Elite
by DragonFlame444
Summary: DISCONTINUED -Ash Ketchem woke up late on the day he was getting his starter. Now paired with a mischievous partner, he will face wild pokemon, other trainers, gym leaders, and even the gang 'Team Rocket'. How will Ash not having Pikachu affect his path, and will he ever rise to be 'Elite' Inspired Partly by Uprising and Misfits by A Wordsmith- DISCONTIUED
1. Starting Out

**Elite is inspired by ****Uprising ****and ****Misfits** **by **_**A Wordsmith**_**. Go check them out, their stories are very interesting with long chapters. I generally don't like Anime Ash, so this is OOC Ash. Pre-Aloha/Kalos Ash is...stupid, with most gym badges (at least in the first series) being given out of pity. Also, no Pikachu, and not only is Gary a rival of Ashes, he has two others, the twins Fire and Leaf. This Ash has spent years in trainer school, and now is ready to get his starter. Not only is this Ash smarter, he prefers actual strategies. So after than introduction, let's get started. (Pokemon can also have unlimited moves, and this is a more realistic view on the Pokemon Games/Manga/Anime)**

* * *

Ash's first clear memory was of a pokemon battle. Barely three years old, sitting in fleece pajamas watching a fight go down on screen. Ash had watched a tall, red haired man with a cape's dragonite defeated the Golem in front of him with a powerful ice punch. That man was Lance, the recent champion of the Kanto region, master of dragon types. At that moment, watching the two pokemon battle, Ash felt something welling up inside him. He wanted to be great like that, no not great..._elite._ Ash focused on pokemon as soon as he could read, reading over moves and status conditions and most of all, the wide variety of pokemon. He vowed one day to become as elite as Lance...failure was not an option.

* * *

Ash could barely sleep the night before he was to get his stater. So, naturally, he didnt wake up untill his mother rapped on his door, _ten minutes before he was expected at Professor Oak's lab._ So Ash had hurriedly got dressed and ran out the door, forgetting breakfast and waving goodbye to his mom.

Now he was here, in front of the large stone building. As Ash panted, hands on knees, the door opened. Ash's head shot up, only to groan in disappointment.

"Well, Ashy-boy, good to see you!" Gary Oak taunted, his spiky hair messy. He was holding a pokeball that he casually tossed up and down.

"Gary!" Ash panted. "Are Fire and Leaf here? Did they choo-"

Ash was caught off by Leaf and Fires appearance, the twins both having new pokeballs clipped onto their belts. "Sorry Ash, we took the last two." Said Fire sympathetically.

"Thats your own fault." Leaf chirped up, thought her brother elbowed the brown-haired girl.

"Oh, shut up Leaf. I'm sure the professor will have something for you, Ash." Fire attempted to reassure. "After all, there are four of us, so someone would've missed a starter either way!"

"Yah, probably something real cool...like a level 1 rattata!" Gary crowed, and Ash sighed. He knew Gary wasn't actually serious as they had a friendly rivalry going on, but it still sucked since he could be right.

"You better head on in… we'll be out here waiting for you!"

"We will?" Leaf asked, but at a glare from Fire she went "Yes then, we will."

Ash smiled slightly at them before taking a deep breath and walking into the lab. As he pushed the doors open, the cool air compared to the heat outside cause sweat droplets to form on his forehead. Ash wiped them off and called out "Professor?"

"Ash, my boy, is that you? Come back here!" Called a voice from the back of the lab. Ash followed the voice until he came upon the Professor looking at a plastic case by his side. Ash's gaze went to where the starting pokemons pokeballs usually sat. The table had three pokeballs, open and empty. Ash sighed, even though he already knew what to expect. Now while all his friends were out training pokemon and having a good time he would be stuck here for another year, this time with no kids his age to play with and-

"-Ash? Ash? Did you hear me, my boy?" Ash blinked sheepishly up at the Professor as he snapped out of his vision. The professor sighed, sounding tired but also slightly amused.

"I said that I was already prepared for one person to not have a starter this year, but only one of each Kanto starter was available for this year. So, I'm taking some unused pokemon from my stores around level 5 that you can use as a starter. I have permission form all the trainers, as they never take care of these pokemon anyway."

Ash thought that that was slightly messed up, catching a pokemon away from where they were born and abandoning them at the professor's lab (even if it was a nice place from what he's seen). He vowed to never have more pokemon that he could handle ever. At the same time, he was relieved he would still get a choice and hopefully end up with something that he could work with in the future, and slightly embarrassed he had panicked and jumped to conclusions about his starter. "Okay Professor, what do you have for me?"

The Professor smiled and opened his case. The case was black velvet on the inside, and there were seven pokeball-sized depressions. The middle three each had one pokeball. The first was a normal pokeball with a lightning bolt shape on the top. The next was a great ball, and the third was a beautiful green ball with veins of black. Ash caught his breath in amazement. A dusk ball. These balls were almost more powerful than an ultra ball at night, and rather rare. He was jolted out of his shock by the professor speaking again.

"Now none of these pokemon are the typical typings, but I belive at least one will work for you! Try one." he urged.

Ash looked at the pokeballs and decided to start from the left. He picked the pokeball with the lightning bolt first. "Go, pokeball!" He threw the ball into the air. The ball opened in mid-air and a white burst of energy shot out. The ball returned to Professor Oak and he caught it(something Ash took note off for later). The pokemon that came out of the ball was a small, yellow with a lightning bolt tail and brown stripes. The pokemon immediately got into an aggressive position, cheek pouches sparking upon spotting the humans. Professor Oak quickly returned the pokemon as he was about to attack. "So what do you think about this guy, Ash? He's a wild caught Pikachu from my backyard, found him eating my cables. I've had him for a few weeks"

Ash looked at the pokeball. A pikachu was rare and all, but they would not do well against Brocks gym, the one he planned on beating first. Also, pikachu knew very few good moves and had to evolve with a thunderstone. Not to mention this one was very aggressive towards him and probably would not listen to his commands. Ash made up his mind and shook his head. "No, this one isn't right. I can't take him"

Professor Oak seemed to accept this, but he sighed as he put the pokeball back. "A shame, but if he's not right for you then I can't give him to you. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to release him sometime. He's not happy in captivity." Professor Oak pulled out the second pokeball.

"Professor, why did the ball return to you when I threw it?" Ash asked, confused.

"Simple, my boy. This pokeball is registered to my pokedex, and after thrown immediately goes in the general direction of my pokedex to make catching the pokeball easier, and to prevent theft since only the trainer and Professor can open the pokeball. Now, meet Trapinch!" The Great Ball flew through the air, and bursted apart in midair. A small orange pokemon landed on the ground, with big bug eyes and a huge head. "_Trap_!" The creature cried out, clacking its jaws together.

"This is a male trapinch, I do believe, and they evolve into Flygon, a dragon type. They are native to Hoenn and rare around here. Go introduce yourself." The Professor smiled, guesteing to the small, lost looking pokemon.

Ash knelt before the Trapinch. "Hello Trapinch." Ash spoke softly. "Im Ash, and I want to do the Gym Challenge and beat the Elite Four and Lance! And I'm going to need a companion. So what do you say-AAGGGGHGHH!"

The last part was because Trapinch had suddenly lunged forward and bitten Ash's hand with it's pincher-like jaws. "Get it off! Get it off!" Ash called, shaking his hand frantically.

"Oh-! Yes!" The professor cried as he called the trapinch back into the Great Ball. Ash collapsed to the floor, looking at his hand. Thankfully, only a faint mark was visible and the pain was already going away. "Sorry about that, Ash." The professor looked sheepish.

"I'm fine, so what's the final pokemon?" Ash said, getting up again. Professor Oak smiled widely at the last ball as he picked it up. "You'll see." He said as he handed the pokemon over to Ash. "This pokemon is a female and her species is native to Unova. Her mother was left at a breeding center and was bred to the wrong pokemon, so the breeder didn't want her, so I got her and raised her from an egg. All right! Come out!" Professor Oak threw the dusk ball.

Ash watched with wide eyes as white energy shot out and formed into a small, black creature. The creature stood on four short legs tipped in red. She looked rather like a fox with a pointed muzzle and ear, but had a swirl of hair on her head with some more bright red. As she opened her eyes, Ash realized they were a bright, electric blue. Ask almost immediately knew what pokemon this was.

Zorua. A powerful, rare dark type pokemon. They could learn a variety of moves, and their ability, illusion, would be very helpful in gyms, especially Sabrina's.

Ash and the Zorua simply stared at one another for a bit. Finally Ash spoke up. "Hello, Zorua. My name is Ash, and I need a partner to set me on the path to complete the Gym Challenge and beat the Elite Four. I'm going to need a strong pokemon to help me accomplish my goal. So what do you say, Zorua? Do you want to travel across Kanto with me?" Ash spoke intensely, his eyes focused on the Zorua as she tilted her head. After a moment she let out a happy "_Zor_!".

Ash grinned. "All-right! Welcome to the team, Zorua!" The black fox pokemon lept into Ash's arms, and and placed a lick on his face before giggling.

Professor Oak approached Ash. "Very good! Now, here is your PokeDex, six pokeballs, and some potions. The pokedex is already registered to you. Just click this button to pull up your trainer card." He handed over a red, square device, several small orbs, and some small purple spray bottles after demonstrating and pulling up Ash's trainer license on the screen. "Now, you must catch Zorua in one of the pokeballs. They are already linked to your PokeDex, so she will be officially your pokemon!"

Ash grinned and tapped one of the orbs, enlarging it to its proper size. "Zorua, you ready?" The pokemon responded with a yelp, hitting the pokeball with her paw. The fox pokemon was sucked inside, and the ball dinged a few times before stopping and pinging. Ash grinned as he picked the pokeball up. (He felt slightly miffed about not having the dusk ball, but no big deal.) "Alright! Come on out, Zorua!" The ball opened and the energy solidified into Zorua, who sat on the floor and cried out "_Zor_!"

"Very good, Ash." The professor looked pleased. "Now scan her with her pokedex, and if you wish, give her a nickname." Ash held his PokeDex over Zorua and clicked his button. Suddenly, information popped up and a voice started speaking '_Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokemon It __changes so it looks just like its foe, tricks it, and then uses that opportunity to flee.'_

Below, it showed Zorua's moves, nature, ability, and other information. Zorua appeared to have three moves, Scratch, Leer, and Sucker Punch. Her nature was Impish, so she liked sour and hated dry berries, and her nature was Illusion. Like all other Zorua, this meant she could come out looking like another pokemon in the party.

Ash grinned at Zorua, who looked very proud of herself. "Would you like a nickname?" The little fox pokemon nodded eagerly. Ash tried a few names like Eclipse, Bloodstone, Garnet, but the little fox didn't like any of them. "What about Trixie?" Ash suggested. "Trix for short." The little Zorua appeared to think for a moment before bounding and barking happily. "Trixie it is then." Trix bounced up on Ash's shoulder, licking his cheek happily. "Will you go back into your ball, girl? I want you to be a surprise." A mischievous look glinted in Trix's eyes and she giggled, before allowing herself to be returned.

Ash turned to Professor Oak. "Anything else, professor?" her asked, ready to set out Trix.

"Just remember Ash, you are only allowed to have six pokemon at a time until you get your fourth badge, then you can have seven. Once you beat all the gyms, you can have eight at a time. Now, go out to your friends!" Ash smiled before turning around and taking off at a full sprint, before letting out a whoop as he pushed open the lab doors and landed next to his friends, who looked startled.

"So did you get your pokemon yet?" Gary asked, looking interested. "We already battled between ourselves. I won." The boys chest puffed up like a peacock.

"I'll let you know that's only because your starter was faster than mine and we only know normal moves!" Leaf countered.

Gary considered for a moment. "Well, yah, but still. Lets see your pokemon, Ashy-boy!"

Ash grinned. "Your first!" He already had made a guess on who got what, but he wanted to make sure.

Fire shrugged. "Go, Charmander!" he called, throwing his pokeball, and watching the happy fire lizard appear. "_Charrrrmander_!"

Leaf threw her ball as well. "Sage! Time to shine!" Out of her ball burst a large bulbasaur that looked around slowly. "_Bulba_!"

Gary just laughed and whipped out his pokeball. "Come on out, Squirtle!" The blue turtle burst out and stretched proudly, before calling "_Squir-tle_!" Gary then turned to Ash. "Call out yours now, Ashy!"

Ash just grinned. "Let's do this, Trix!" The ball flew in the air, releasing the black fox pokemon in a flood of energy. She yelped "_Zor_!" before staring up at the amazed faces around her smugly.

Of course Fire recognized the pokemon first. "A zorua!" He marveled. "They come from the Unova region and evolve into Zoroark, the master of illusions!"

The little Zorua giggled impishly at his clear amazement and pranced around.

"She looks like a little prankster, Ash! You better look out!" Leaf teased, elbowing Ash's side. Ash just grinned back.

"Whatever!" Gary sniffed, but Ash could still tell that this was just good-natured teasing. "I bet it's not _that_ amazing." His Squirtle copied his actions, folding his arms and huffing.

Trix just looked up and giggled, before jumping into the air. When she came back down, she looked just like Gary. Gary stared in amazement. "What the hell!?" He cried, stumbling back. His squirtle looked confused, looking between Gary and Trix-Gary, who just giggled with strangely sharp teeth. "Okay, that is pretty cool." Gary admitted in defeat, and Trix-Gary giggled again and changed back into normal Trix.

"So Ash, wanna battle?" Gary asked, as he calmed down. Squirtle still looked a bit confused, however Charmander looks excited and Sage (the Bulbasaur) was silently laughing.

Ash thought for a moment. "As much as I want to kick your ass, I'll have to pass. We need to set out a twelve, and it's already eleven. I'm going to go to say goodbye to my mom, eat breakfast, and grab supplies. I'll see you soon, however!"

"That's probably a good idea…" Fire said, returning his Charmander, followed by Leaf and Gary. "We'll meet you in front of Route 1 at 12:00, be ready!" Leaf took off, leaving Fire to run after her, screeching hor her to slow down. Gary went in the direction of his house, tossing the ball up and down again.

"Come on, Trix!" Ash called, running towards his house with the little fox pokemon following. When he arrived, he opened the door and was greeted by his mom. "Ash! Your back. Did you pick out a starter? What one?" She knew that Ash had no idea what starter he wanted, and she was curious what he got.

Ashe grinned. "Professor Oak ran out of starters so he gave me another pokemon he had! Meet Trix!" With that, Trix leaped onto Ash's shoulder, giggling.

Ash's mom gasped. "A zorua! What a cute pokemon!" She stroked Trix's head, who made a purring sound. Ash had almost forgot his mom used to be a pokemon photographer before he was born, and had traveled around the regions looking for rare pokemon.

"I got your breakfast all ready." Ash's mom's voice broke through his daze. "Once you finish, I have a few surprises for you." Hearing that, Ash hurriedly started to eat his breakfast, some kind of nutty cereal, finishing quickly while Trix explored the kitchen.

"Finished!" Ash cried, pushing the bowl away and calling Trix to him. He looked around for his mom, only to see her coming down the stairs with a beautiful backpack. The backpack was white with a green pokeball outline and straps, and was big enough to fit all of his supplies.

"Ash, in here is your tent, sleeping bag, and some clothing. I also packed 2000 Pokemon Dollars for you to use for necessitees. Don't you _dare_ use this on something you don't need or TM's. Okay?" Ash sighed by agreed.

"I also have a few more things." Ash's mother passed over a black, shiny new badge case. "I bought this for you, as I know you want to get all the gym badges!"

"Thanks, Mom!" Ash grinned, picking up the badge case and putting it in his backpack.

"I also have a trainer belt for you." The belt was black with eight red pokeball clips, so Ash clipped the five empty pokeballs and Trix's pokeball onto some empty spaces.

"I have one more thing for you…" Ash's mom smiled. She went upstairs and Ash sat down as Trix jumped on his lap, so he scratched her ears.

After a few minutes, Ash's mom came down with a cardboard box. She smiled sadly at the box before putting it on the table in front of Ash. "Open it…"

Ash stood and opened the box, and opened the tabs. Inside the box was a new dark red and white trainer jacket, all new and fresh. Ash grinned as he lifted it into the air, however there was something else in the box. Ash looked down and gasped. He knew what this was. With trembling fingers he pulled out a red hat with a white and blue pokeball symbol. The hat was worn but well cared for, and he had seen this hat on his father's head in the few photos they had of him.

"Mom...I..I…" Ash stammered as he lifted up the hat. At a smile from his mom he gently put the hat on his head. The hat fit perfectly over his head, and it just felt _right_, having a bit of his father with him. "It's perfect, Mom." Ash smiled, giving his mother a hug.

She smiled back softly. "He would of wanted you to have this…" She trailed off before straightening. "Ash, make sure to call me first thing once you arrive in a new Pokecenter, and check the news every day, and look out for Team Rocket...they have been active lately…"

Ash smiled at his mother. "Don't worry Mom, I can handle dumb grunts… and Ill be safe, I promise. Trix is better than any dumb zubat!"

His mom smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know you can...Trix, please look after my son." She said to the Zorua, who cried out an affirmative. "Now get out there, Ash, and take the world by storm!" His mother called as Ash and Trix started to the door, wearing his trainer clothing, belt, and backpack.

"I will, Mom." Ash said as he pulled open the door, and he and Trix took the first step on their journey.

* * *

Ash arrived at Route 1 with Trix on his shoulder. Gary was already there, with Squirtle out of his pokeball. "Hey, Ashy-boy! You ready to battle?"

Ash grinned. "Sure! Lets battle!" Trix jumped down from his shoulder with a bark, and Squirtle came forward with a "_Squirtle-Squirt_!"

"Lets go Squirtle! Use Tackle!" The squirtle nodded and charged forward, glowing with a slight white energy.

"Dodge, Tri! Then Leer and Pursuit!" Trix obeyed, leaping over Squirtle and as he whirled around, leered at him sincerely. When Squirtle stiffened from fright, Trix charged forward, faint black energy forming around her. With a cry, she hit Squirtle, knocking him back onto his shell.

"Squirtle!" Gary called out. Squirtle got up after a moment, and glared determinedly. "Use Water Gun!" Squirtle let out a rush of water from his mouth, and managed to hit Trix, knocking her back.

"Trix!" Ash called, but the Zorua got up again, eyes narrowed. She let out a yip, crouching down.

"Squirtle, use Water Gun again!" Gary commanded, and another rush of water started charging up.

"Sucker Punch!" Ash called out his last chance of winning the battle. It was a powerful move for such a tiny thing, but he hoped she could pull that off. Trix became wreathed and dark energy, and shot at Squirtle, even faster than Squirtle could fire off Water Gun. However, as Trix popped in front of Squirtle, the energy disappeared. Trix looked around, shocked, and Ash cried out in horror as a close-range Water Gun hit Trix and sent her flying back to Ash.

"Trix!" He cried, running over to Zorua. She was laying on the ground, not unconscious, but too drained to continue.

They were both distracted by applause, and turned to see that Leaf and Fire had arrived at some point and had watched the battle. "Congrats, Gary." Fire called out, Charmander at his side looking slightly bitter at Squirtle.

Leaf had been sitting on a rock called out "You did better than Fire, Ash! But then again, that's not hard!" She ignored Fire's indignant sound and called out Sage, who shook his bulb out and called out "_Suar!_"

"Hah! Good match, Ash!" Gary called as looked over Squirtle, who looked puffed up with pride even with a bruise on his chest. "If that Sucker Punch had hit...Squirtle would of been a goner!"

Ash smiled back as he pulled out a potion and gently sprayed it on the bruises on Trix's body. After a moment, she managed to get up, and Ash pulled his backpack over. After looking through, he found a berry pouch with a few berries, so he gave her an oran berry to chew. Trix barked a soft thanks, before leaping up and stretching. "So are we going now? Viridian City is about half a week's journey from here. Are well all going to challenge Brock first?"

Gary and Leaf nodded, but Fire shook his head. "No, there aren't many grass types in the Viridian Forest except , so I'm going to travel to Cerulean City first, where I'll catch a grass type and maybe a flying type. Then I'll go to Celadon City, and see where I go from there."

Leaf spoke up "Then we can travel together for the first few days, then when we get to Viridian City we can split. Don't want you guys to know all my secrets!" She winked.

Gary just snorted at that, but Ash interrupted before they could get into an argument. "Let's get walking, guys. It should take about five or six days if we train our pokemon at night." And before he could hear them start to argue again, Ash took off, with Trix running beside him. He could hear the others following him, and he grinned. They were finally off on their pokemon adventure.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Ash had his first battle with a trainer. He had not battled since Gary, giving Trix time to rest as she rode on his shoulder. No one had caught a second pokemon yet as well. They had been taking turns with trainer battles, the order chosen by blades of grass. Leaf had got the shortest, so she went first, Gary after her, and Ash was third. Poor Fire was last, however he didn't mind much as was examining the wild pokemon around him.

Leaf had already beaten a Bug Trainers Caterpie with a well placed Poison Powder, and Gary had managed to knock out a trainers Pidgey. This time, when a kid who looked about 9 ran up to the and challenged one of them to a battle, Ash got to go.

"Alright, Trix!" He called, and the Zorua jumped off his should with a bark and landed in front of the trainer. The boy narrowed his eyes and threw his pokeball.

"Go, Rattata!" A large purple mouse with huge fangs appeared on the path, whiskers quivering. "_Rat-at-a!_" Rattata were fairly common pokemon, so Ash felt confident he could handle this one.

The other trainer took the first move. "Use Quick Attack, Rattata!" The little pokemon dashed off, leaving a trail of white energy.

"Dodge, then Leer!" Ash called out. Trix leapt into the air as the rattata cruised beneath her, and turned around upon landing. She shot a leer at the rattata when it turned to face her, shuddering under the dark gaze.

"Rattata! Tackle!" the kid commanded, and Rattata shook itself off before charging at Zorua, covering in white energy, seemingly experienced with the move.

"Counter with Scratch!" Ash commanded, and Trix charged as well, her claws glowing white. She and the Rattata charged each other, and she managed to scratch its chest and knock it back before she could be hit. "Finish with Pursuit!" Ash commanded, and Trix covered herself in dark energy before charging Rattata and knocking it unconscious.

"Yes! Good job, Trix!" Ash praised, bending down to stroke Trix's ears. Trix barked happily and swished her tail.

The Youngster scowled before handing over 120 PokeDollars. Ash accepted with a smile, but the Youngster just huffed and returned his pokemon before storming off. "What a _bratt_." Ash huffed, as he went over to his friends, who had watched the battle.

Gary grinned "Well, it could of been worse. He could of ran without paying!" Ash grounded at the thought of that.

"When do you think we should stop, guys?" Fire asked as he pulled out his pokedex to check the time. "Its 5:45."

"We'll keep going until you get a battle, then we'll find a clearing to camp." Leaf spoke up from looking at her pokedex. "We are probably gonna need to go over our pokemon's moves later anyway." She had already managed to teach her Bulbasaur the basics if Poison Powder, and Ash was still amazed how fast she did that.

All four of them agreed to that plan, so they kept moving until Fire was challenged by a Bug Trainer, whose ass he whooped easily. Charmander had just used ember on the weedle a few times before winning victory, and they started looking for a place to camp. It was 7:00 PM when Fire alerted them to a large clearing surrounded by trees and close to the main path. Ash chose the spot closest to the right and set his tent up. The tent was red and white, a nice tent that would protect him from weather but not most pokemon attacks.

After setting up his tent, Ash came outside. Gary and Leaf were sorting through their bags. and Fire was busy building a campfire with Charmanders help. Ash joined them as the fire sparked into existence, digging out a few oran berries for Trix to eat and a few protein bars for himself while looking at his PokeDex. Ash made a mental note to buy a Carnivorous Pokemon food, before standing up.

"I'm going to train over there, call me if you need me." Ash said, jerking his thumb right. The others barely looked up from their food, just nodding or humming a reply. Ash just rolled his eyes and left the clearing, Trix following excitedly.

Eventually, Ash found a strong, thick tree. He could see the marks of bug type pokemon on the tree, as well as rattata scratches. "Okay, Trix, I want you to use Scratch on this tree." Trix giggled and her little claws glowed. With a "_Zooour_!" She charged at the tree and swiped, leaving marks in the wood.

"Good, girl, you seem to have that move down." Ash smiled as he reached down and stroked her head softly. "And I know you can do Leer well… but your Pursuit needs a bit of work and your Sucker Punch…" Ash trailed off "...is probably to advanced for you right now. So let's work on Pursuit, then I'm going to try and teach you Fury Swipes. Then, once we get to Viridian, I'm going to buy you a TM to use for Brock's Gym." Trix sulked a bit at the mention of Sucker Punch, but by the end of the talk she was happy again, and let out a "_Zor_!" in agreement.

"Okay Trix, use Pursuit on the tree!" Trix grinned before letting black energy surround her. It was stronger than the first time, but still not strong enough yet. "Okay girl, try to make it stronger!" Ash called. The black energy almost vanished as Trix closed her eyes, but suddenly it flared up, stronger than before. "Go!" Ash called, and Trix crashed into the tree. When she backed away, there was a bruise on her chest and a mark on the tree. Ash smiled. "Good job, girl." He smiled down at her. "Where does the energy come from?" He wanted to know.

Trix tilted her head for a moment, before baring her teeth and growling, her eyes narrowed. "Anger?" Ash asked. Trix shook her head slightly, like she was saying he was close, and growled again, this time louder. "Emotions? Hate?" Trix grinned and yelped. "So hate and other dark emotions... so maybe focus on something you hate or loathe to charge your energy up better." The Zorua tilted her head before growling in agreement. Dark energy covered her body, even stronger than before.

Letting out a snarl, Trix sprang at the tree. There was a loud crash, and the tree had a indention. Trix yelped happily at Ash. "Good girl." He said, ruffling her fur. "Work on that a few more times, please."

Trix nodded and they worked for another half hour before deciding to go to back to the clearing, covered in bruises. When they arrived, his friends were seated around the fire with their starters, chatting. Ash took a seat and groaned as the fire washed over him. He grabbed a brush from his bag and gently brushed Trix. It had been a gift from his Mom along with everything else, but he would eventually have to buy more brushes for all his pokemon.

Ash was jolted out of his thoughts by Gary asking Leaf "What did you and Sage work on? Me and Squirtle practiced Withdrawal, and he's almost mastered the move."

Leaf merely replied "We worked on Poison Powder and Leech Seed. What about you, Fire?"

Fire shrugged as he tended the flames. "Just Scratch and Ember. Ash?" The amber haired boy said, looking to Ash.

"Just trying to increase Trix's power." Ash said, the Zorua giving a sleepy whimper at her name. "We managed to put some serious dents in a tree back there." They all continued to chat for another thirty or so minutes, until Gary rose from his spot and returned Squirtle.

Gary snorted. "We can stay up all we want, but I'm going to bed. We need to be rested for tomorrow, and if you can't keep up I'm leaving you behind." With that Gary went towards his tent.

"I'm going to bed as well, guys." Leaf stood, stretching. "I plan on catching my first pokemon tomorrow, and beating plenty of trainers." With that, Leaf stalked to her tent as well.

Fire and Ash sat for a few moments before getting up at the same time. "Lets go ahead and go in...we can draw sticks again tomorrow." Ash said, Trix shaking herself to stay awake.

"Well then….Goodnight, Ash." Fire called, as he kicked dirt over the flames before going to his tent and crawling in.

Ash sent an amused look at Trix, who was almost asleep on her paws, and picked her up. The Zorua snuggled against his chest as they entered Ash's tent. Ash set Trix down on the pokemon bed, but she whine so he put her down on his sleeping bag before laying it in himself. Together, they fell asleep, waiting for the day they would get their first badge.

* * *

**And that's the first chapter! This was really more of an introduction to the story. I originally had three pokemon planned out for Ash, those being a male Litleo, a male Shinx, and Trix. I ended up going with Trix because of my love for Zorua/rk and the movepool they have. While they don't have the best movepool, they can learn plenty of different TM'S and has a very fun ability. **

**Please, Read, Follow, and Review so I can improve this story!**


	2. Journey to Viridian

**Okay, Welcome back everyone who liked the first chapter. This one will have them arrive in Virden (I hope). Leaf, Gary, and Fire Should catch their first pokemon, and Ash should get Zorua progressing on Fury Swipes. Also, Levels do not really exist in my story. They are more like… numbers. You use them to rate, but they do not define...they are more like estimation of a pokemon's power. That's like a pokemon hatches at level 1 and a powerful pokemon evolves at a high level. **

* * *

Ash woke up to a wet nose poking him in the ear. He jolted up with a shriek, only to see Trix giggling madly, almost rolling around. "Very funny you little prankster." Ash growled, exasperated. He grabbed the PokeDex and started flipping through. It was 6:30 AM, and nothing extraordinary was happening except for a group of strong Spearow near the end of Route 1. Ash made a mental note before stretching and looking at his surrounding. He had apparently forgotten to take his trainers jacket off he had managed to get his belt off before he fell asleep.

Putting his gear back on, Ash started to pack up sleeping bag. He then rolled up the unused pokemon bed before taking down his tent. No one else was awake yet. Ash looked at Trix, who looked like she was trying to tell him something. "What is it girl?" He asked. Trix merely looked at him before trotting away, towards the clearing they had trained yesterday. Ash followed with a frown on his face, confused. When they arrived the same place they had practiced yesterday, Trix walked over to the tree they had practiced on yesterday. She yipped, wagging her tail. "Do you want to practice more?" Ash asked, and Trix nodded. With a "_Zor_!" she charged at the tree with her claws glowing in a Scratch attack. As she jumped back from the tree, she suddenly scented the air, her little nose twitching "What is it girl?" Ash asked. Trix just responded with a whimper, sniffing the air again before she went to a tree nearby the one she had practiced on. She sniffed the air again before pawing at the tree, whining.

Ash looked at the tree. It was rather tall, with thick branches just possible for someone to possibly climb. In other words, no different from any other tree. But it was too _quiet._ At this point, pokemon should of been chirping, and he should of seen some pokemon. But the only pokemon nearby was Trix. Looking at the tree, Ash made up his mind. "Okay, girl. I'm going to climb up here. Go ahead and jump on my shoulders."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Trix jumped up onto his back, digging her little claws in as Ash started the climb. He grunted slightly in pain as he pulled himself up onto the first branch. He looked at Trix. "What way, girl?" She simply pointed her nose up, so Ash started to climb higher. As they got closer to the top, the Zorua started to hiss. Eventually, they cleared the thick branches and they came upon a small clearing in the branches, where they forked together to create a platform. They were up at least 50 feet, and Ash was almost panting from exhaustion. However, a growl from Trix pulled his attention, and what he saw made him freeze.

In the center of the forked branches was a small nest made of grass. The nest looked unkempt and messy, and in the middle was a single, round pokemon egg. But that wasn't the alarming part. The alarming part was the Ekans curled around the egg, hissing in pleasure and licking its lips. Ash froze. The Ekans was about to eat the egg. But the platform would not be able to hold Ash's weight. There was only one thing he could do.

"Trix!" He called, and she leapt onto the platform. The Ekans startled, turning to face the Zorua with a growl on its face. "Use Leer!" Ash would not risk them hitting the egg. Trix snarled as her eyes darkened, but the Ekans seemed to take that as a challenge. With a screech, it lunged in a Bite attack, mouth glowing with dark energy.

"Dodge!" Ash called, and Trix sidestepped, but the Ekans lashed out in a Wrap attack and snared Trix. "Trix!" He called out. Ash tried to call out a command, but he froze. His mouth dried, and he couldn't breath. The Ekans opened his mouth, charging a Poison Sting attack. Trix struggled, but couldn't make it out in time and she was going to die and it would be his fault and-

Suddenly a cry sounded from the sky above, and a tawny blurr burst through the side of the tree, leaving a hole in the nest's shelter. The Ekans glowed blue and was forcefully thrown into the air and off Trix, before landing on the edge of the platform and screeching in pain. Between the Ekans and the egg landed a large, brown male noctowl who must of heard the ruckus.

Both Ash and Trix stared in amazement. The Noctowl was very large and healthy with groomed feathers, obviously a trainers pokemon The Noctowl hooted once, before charging up a powerful peck attack. The Ekans tried to resist, but was knocked out of the tree and disappeared below the leaves. The Noctowl then turned to Ash and Trix.

He hooted a few times to Trix, who perked her ears up and yapped back. They had a conversation like that for a few moments until the Noctowl hopped over to Ash and stared in his eyes. Ash's eyes widened as he felt a slight presence in his mind. The presence didn't seem aggressive, just curious. It seemed to look though his mind a bit before pulling out gently. Ash gasped like he was coming up for air and stared at the Noctowl in amazement. "That...was you?" The Noctowl simply hooted once to confirm that and then turned back to Trix. They seemed to communicate for a few more moments when Trix's tail started to wag.

They stopped and she went over to him and gently nuzzled him, helping him up, while the Noctowl went back to his egg. Ash though it was over. It was not.

The Noctowl began to gently roll the egg towards Ash, until it rested in front of him. The Owl pokemon then looked at him and hooted. "Do you- you want me to take your egg?" Ash asked, only for Trixs to wag harder and Noctowl to nod. "But why? Don't you and your mate want to raise the child?" Ash demanded.

The Noctowl dipped its head, looking sad, and Trix let out a soft whimper. Ash tilted his head. "Your mate? Is she… gone?" The Noctowl silently bobbed his head. As this really was a trainers pokemon, he probably could not visit enough to raise his child, and without his mate the egg was unprotected most of the time. After a moment of silence, Ash reached forward and picked up the pokemon egg. It was heavier than he thought, so Ash adjusted his grip. "Don't worry. I'll take care of your egg for you." The egg was pale white with triangle shapes.

Trix jumped up on Ash's shoulder and sniffed the egg, before gently nuzzling the surface. The Noctowl then turned around and looked over his shoulder, hooting. "Do you want me to ride on your back?" Ash asked, and the bird nodded. Holding his breath Ash carefully climbed onto the bird, only able to hold on with one hand. Trix clinged to Ash's shirt with her tiny claws and the Noctowl shot out of the hole he had made earlier. Ash gasped as he saw the ground so far below, laughing in amazement as the Noctowl swooped down to the ground and allowed them to get off. Ash almost fell to the ground, but managed not to as to not hurt the egg.

Trix collapsed as well with a whine. Ash turned to the Noctowl, who was looking to the egg sadly. 'Goodbye, Noctowl. I'll take care of your child." The Noctowl let out one last sad hoot before turning around and flying away. Ash watched until the owl pokemon was out of sight before pulling out his PokeDex from his pocket and checking the time. 7:10. Crap. "Hurry, Trix, if we don't get there soon we'll be left behind!" The Zorua got up after a moment, and Ash hurried as fast as he could with a heavy egg in his hands.

After a few moments, Ash burst into the clearing where they had been camping, panting as Trix stumbled after him before collapsing. All the tents had been put away and Ash's friends were about ready to leave. Gary, Fire, and Leaf looked up from the campfire, their faces shifting to expressions that varied from confusion to amusement.

Leaf spoke first. "Congratulation, Ash. Its an egg." Ash rolled his eyes at Leaf before collapsing at his seat by the campfire.

"Where did you find an egg?" Gary asked in confusion. "And why are you two almost passed out?"

Ash caught his breath before explaining as fast as he could. Three pairs of eyes stared at him in amazement as he described flying on a wild Noctowls back after fighting a wild Ekans. When he finished, Ash stopped nervously, looking around at his friends.

"That. Was. So. Cool." Leaf said after a moment, Sage echoing her with a "_Bulba_!"

Gary nodded as well. "I hate to say it, Ashy-boy, but Leaf is right. Thats damn cool."

Ash looked to Fire nervously. "Fire? Do you know what I have to do to take care of the egg? Or what type it is?"

"Hold on a sec." Fire said, pulling out his PokeDex and typing a few things in. After a moment he said "It seems like a Normal, Flying or Fairy type egg so the only thing you need to do is carry it around with you, presumably tucked into you bag. It should take anywhere from two to three weeks to hatch, but could be earlier depending on how long ago it was laid and what species it is." Ash sighed in relief at that. He really didn't want to buy an expensive incubator for his egg.

"Let's eat breakfast then and set out." Gary called, letting Squirtle out. "Then we will draw sticks. Ash, you should put your Zorua in her pokeball for a bit, she seems dead tired."

Ash looked down at Trix, who was almost asleep. He smiled softly before walking over to his backpack. Using the pokemon blanket, he wrapped the egg up before placing it in his backpack snugly before pulling out an oran berry and a energy bar. He munched on the bar as he passed the berry to Trix, who sniffed before slowly eating her food.

After about 10 minutes, they all were ready to go. Everyone returned their starets, even Ash, and they set out. Thankfully, Trix was too tired to put up a fuss. They pulled sticks again and Fire was first, than Gary, than Leaf, and finally Ash. However, Ash didn't mind as much as he wanted Trix to get a nice, long rest before battling again.

As they walked down Route 1, Ash looked around. Occasionally Rattata would burst out of the grass, but none attacked. By now, Fire and Gary had already been challenged to fights (that they won), and now it was Leaf's turn. After she beat the kids ass, they continued on until a large wild Rattata burst out of the grass with a shriek, teeth shining with the move Hyper Fang. The Rattata had some thicker tufts of fur, like it was on its way to evolving. Gary called his Squirtle out with a "Go! Squirtle!" and the turtle landed in front of the Rattata with a low "_Squirtle_!"

The Rattata lunged with Hyper Fang, but Gary called "Withdrawal!". Squirtle shrank into its shell, and the attack barely did any damage to the pokemon's shell. "Now Water Gun!" Gary cried, and Squirtle shot back out, spraying a stream of water that hit Rattata in the chest. The pokemon squealed, but got back up and hissed a challenge. Gary griined. "Oh, I like you!"

The Rattata charged up a Quick Attack, and bolted in a stream of energy at Squirtle, managing to hit him in the chest. Squirtle staggered back and fell before getting up again with a grunt. "Finish this with Water Gun!" Gary called. Squirtle glared at Rattata before letting out a powerful Water Gun. The Rattata tried to dodge, but Squirtle just moved his head and caught the Rattata in midair. The pokemon let out a cry and crashed into the ground and didn't get up. Gary grinned and picked up an empty pokeball, before throwing it at the pokeball.

The pokeball hit the Rattata and sucked the pokemon in. The pokeball only rocked a few times before dinging gently. "Yes!" Gary pumped his fist in the air, before returning Squirtle and picking up Rattata's pokeball. Gary then released his Rattata onto the ground. The Rattata blinked and looked up, bruises on its chest from the Water Gun attack.

"Hello, Rattata." Gary said to the pokemon. "I caught you, so that makes me your trainer! Stick with me and I'll make you stronger, help you evolve, and supply you with food, medicine, and battles. So will you let me treat you?"

The Rattata sniffed and looked away. After a few moments, however it winched and shrugged in defeat, giving in. "All right, Rattata. This may sting a bit." Gary pulled out a potion and sprayed it on Rattata. The pokemon shrieked at the sting before calming down as it's bruises disappeared. The Rattata looked at itself before deeming itself healed. Gary returned Rattata before tucking his pokeball away and sending a gloating look at his companions. "Look like I caught the first pokemon out of all of us."

Leaf huffed and rolled her eyes. "Actually, Ash caught the first pokemon with his egg, so your in second place."

Gary deflated a bit before shaking himself off. "Well, I still got the first pokemon in a pokeball, so ha!"

Ash, Leaf, and Fire just rolled their eyes and walked off, hearing Gary cut off on his rant and follow them.

They soon came upon another trainer, and it was finally Ash's turn. A Beauty with three pokeballs jumped out of a bush, causing Fire and Gary to yelp. Leaf snickered as the Beauty called out "Do any of you four want to battle?"

As it was Ash's turn, he stepped up. "I'll go, but I only have one pokemon, so it'll be a 1v1."

The Beauty nodded, and picked up a pokeball. "Sure! Lets go, Oddish!" She threw a pokeball and out popped a blue pokemon with leaves on its head. "_Odd_?" it asked, confused.

Ash grinned. "Well then, go Trix!" He threw the pokeball, and in a burst of light the Zorua appeared, almost completely rested up from earlier.

The Beauty whistled. "That's a rare pokemon, kid. Good job." Ash smiled, and Trix pranced at the praise.

"Lets go, Oddish!" The Beauty called out. "Use Growth!" The Oddish trilled out a confirmation, before closing its eyes. Green energy streaked from the ground beneath Oddish and traveled up to its leaves, which glowed green.

"Quick, Trix! Use Scratch, while you have a chance!" The Zorua barked before charging forward, managing to land a Scratch on one of the leaves and tore the tip of one of the leaves up.

"Oddish! Use Poison Powder!" The Oddish shook itself, managing to shake a bunch of purple pollen off, and blasted them around the battlefield. Trix tried to avoid the pollen, but she was too close to escape unscathed. Purple powder stick to her, and the Zorua cried out in pain as she was poisoned.

"Trix!" Ash called out in alarm as the Zorua shuddered with poison. Thankfully she was not badly poisoned, so she barked out a determined "_Zor_!"

Ash grimaced. He had to end this fast, before Trix succumbed to the poison. "Use Pursuit! Full power!" He figured Trix had plenty of hatred for this move to be pulled of.

And he was right. Trix narrowed her eyes before growling as black energy so thick that Ash could barely see the pokemon inside. Trix charged the Oddish with a shriek, and hit the Weed Pokemon hard. The Oddish cried out "_Ish_!" As it was knocked down, looking a little worse for the wear with a huge bruise on its chest.

"Use Absorb, Oddish!" The Beauty cried out, and the Oddish managed to stand up again. "_Odd_!" A light green energy beam shot out of Oddish's leaves, heading for Trix, who was still taking damage from the poison.

"Dodge, Trix, then use Scratch!" The Zorua managed to get out of the way but was grazed by the attack, but she did landed on the Oddish with claws glowing white. "_Zor-u-a_!" Oddish fell with a cry, knocked out with leaves shredded into bits.

The Beauty sighed, returning her pokemon. "That was a good match." She dug into her bag's pocket and brought out a roll of cash and a small yellow bottle. "Here is your prize money, and an antidote for your pokemon." She handed them over to Ash with a smile. "Hope to battle you again someday!"

Ash took the offered items with a smile. He had actually won 900 PokeDollars from here because her Oddish was around Power Level 15. "Thanks, I'll look forward to that!"

Ash knelt down and took out the antidote. "Here girl, drink this." He said, and she let out a yap of appreciation before drinking the antidote down. She wrinkled her nose a bit. Slowly, the purple tint from her fur vanished, and she nosed Ash's hand with her nose. "Good girl." Ash said, returning her before going back over to his friends before they left together down the route.

* * *

They traveled like that until 6:00, and by then everyone in the group had battled at least twice, and Ash had made 1,320 PokeDollars in all that day. Fire had also caught a young wild Pidgey that had been lost from its flock. They set up camp in another clearing, smaller than the one they had stayed in yesterday. They all set up their tents in a circular shape, and they all released their pokemon. Gary's Rattata immediately growled at Squirtle before scampering off to explore the campsite.

Leaf released Sage, who shook his head. "Can you help us get some wood, Sage? We need to make another campfire." Sage replied with a "_Saur_!" and they walked off into the nearby woods.

Fire let out his Charmander and Pidgey. His Pidgey immediately landed on his shoulder with a "_Pidg_!" Charmander just looked around before turning to the Pidgey and talking to him with cries of "_Char_!" and "_Gey_!".

Ash let out Trix outside of his tent. She was quite tired from all the battling today, but Ash wanted to get her started on Fury Swipes tonight. "You good, girl?" He asked, and Trix let out a soft yelp before nuzzling his side. Ash smiled. "After we eat, I'm gonna teach you Fury Swipes." The Zorua yipped in agreement.

Ash then took of his backpack carefully, before opening up the panel the egg was in. It didn't seem close to hatching, so he carefully picked it up and took out a few berries for Trix, as the group had already agreed upon to have a campfire-cooked meal for celebration as the fact that they were earlier than thought and should arrive in Viridian City within two days.

When Ash exited the tent, he found Sage and Leaf carrying wood to make a fire, and Trix and Charmander digging out a place for the wood to go. Ash joined them as Sage and Leaf dropped the wood on the ground. "Here, let me help." Ash said as he picked up the wood and placed it in the hole as Trix and Charmander backed off. Ash put the egg down on a blanket near the fire, as studies have shown more activity makes an egg hatch faster.

"Thanks, Ash." Leaf said. "I'm going to grab some more food from my bag, so we can have a better meal tonight." As Leaf walked off with Sage following, Gary came out of his tent with his Squirtle. Gary was holding several water bottles and a few pokemon bowls.

"Here's some water." Gary said as he handed out the water to the group and poured the rest into water bowls before setting them in front of the pokemon. Trix ended up sharing with Sage, who was a plant and didn't need much water. Trix lapped the water greedily, but Sage just until Trix was done before sitting in the water to absorb some. Ash sipped his water calmly, thankful for a drink after so long.

Leaf and Fire emerged from their tents with their hands full of food supplies. "Okay guys, we got some sausages and dried fruit, and some assorted berries for the pokemon." Fire spoke, putting down the sausages nearby. "We have Asper Berries, Lum Berries, Bluk Berries, and Aguav Berries." Fire placed each berry down in the order.

The pokemon each perked up, tails wagging, each interesting in a certain berry. Trix was eyeing an Asper Berry, so Ash made a note about that.

"Ash, can you get me four sharp sticks?" Leaf asked, looking up from the food.

"Sure." Ash said, getting up. "Come on, Trix." After a moment, the Zorua got up and followed him into the woods. After a few moments Ash and Trix had found four sticks that they brought back.

When they arrived, the others were dividing up the food. Trix barked in dismay and ran to where the other pokemon were sorting up the food, and she ran to pick out her favorites. Ash rolled his eyes slightly before bringing the sticks to the campsite and sitting next to the egg.

"Here." Ash said as he handed over three of the sticks. In return, Leaf passed him three sausages that Ash stabbed onto his stick. The other copied his actions, and they held them over the fire. As Ash watched the sausage start to sizzle and darken, he started to relax. Hearing a "_Zor_!" Ash turned to see Trix running over to him with two plump Asper berries. Ash smiled at his Zorua, who giggled before attempting to bite down on a berry. Pulling his sausages out of the fire, Ash blew on them.

While he blew on his sausages, Ash watches Trix struggle with the Asper berries. Asper berries have very thick skin, but very juicy, bitter insides. "Maybe use Scratch, Trix." Ash called, amused. Trix looked up in surprise, before yelping. Her claws glowed and she clawed at the Asper berry. She succeeded in creating three gashes in the fruit that leaked a heavy, bitter juice. Trix yipped in excitement before using Scratch on the fruit until she managed to slice the fruit in half. By them however, Trix was drenched in berry juice by that point.

Ash laughed softly as he watched Trix before grabbing one of his sausages and starting to eat the delicious food. Before he knew it, he had finished all of them and was sampling some kind of dried berry.

Finally, at 7:40, Ash finished completely and got up, stretching. "Okay guys, I'm taking Trix to train a bit." By now, everyone had disgusted their food and the Zorua was starting to get restless. At his words, she got up with a excited yelp before dancing around his heels. Ash snorted slightly as he bent down to pick up the egg and blanket. "Calm down girl, lets go."

Trix yelped and ran off from the clearing as Ash padded after her, carefully with the egg in his hands. It was sunset, so they would only be able to stay out for about half an hour.

Ash found Trix at a thick tree, prancing around and yipping impatiently. "Im here, calm down." Ash called as he walked over to her before putting the egg on the blanket down nearby. Once he did that, he called out to his pokemon "Okay, try to work on Fury Swipes.

Fury Swipes was a physical attack that that could hit 2-5 times in a row. It was a normal type attack, the easiest type for any non-normal type pokemon to learn.

With a giggle, Trix's claws expanded and glowed white. She lunged at the tree with a howl and scraped her claws over the tree bark. Trix only managed to get one one swipe, however, before the energy vanished. Trix let out a whimper of disappointment before turning back to Ash.

Ash sighed before moving forward and stroking Trix's head. "It's okay,that's just your first try. Go ahead and try again. Maybe practice Scratch a few times first?"

Trix tilted her head before yipping, and she turned back to the tree, her claws growing white. Ash pulled out his PokeDex before checking the news. The Spearow's were still around Viridian City, so maybe Leaf would catch one tomorrow. She didn't show it, but Ash knew she was salty about being the last to get a pokemon.

After a while of searching the internet, Ash heard a bark and looked up. Trix was looking at him, excited. "Did you get Fury Swipes?" Ash asked, and the Zorua wagged her tail. "Okay, lets see." Ash said, and Trix turned to the tree again, which was littered with small scratches, and two bigger scratches.

The Zorua crouched down, before her claws gleaned a clean white light. With a "_Zor-ua-A_!" she sprang at the tree, and slashed with her claws twice, before bouncing away with a giggle before turning to Ash for approval.

"Good job, Trix!" Ash called, and stroked her ears as the pokemon rumbled with approval. "Work on that for just a bit longer, until you can get three slashes."

"_Zor_!" Trix called before prancing back to the tree, her claws already glowing. They stayed out for about another 20 minutes before Trix was able to get three slashes down. "Good girl." Ash said as he rubbed her ears. "Let's get back to camp." It was about 8:20, and they would be going to bed at about 9:00.

Ash picked up the egg, and they walked back to camp. Only Fire and Leaf were out, arguing in soft voices that Ash could not overhear. They stopped after a moment, with Fire seeming the clear victor, with Leaf looking furious.

Ash took his place by the campfire, putting the egg down. "Okay, watch the egg, Trix. I'll be right back." The Zorua yapped in agreement, and Ash went into his tent. He took of his jacket and put it on his sleeping bag, before pulling out Trix's brush and exiting the tent.

Ash came to find Trix curled around the egg, keeping it warm. Ash smiled at Trix before stroking her head, and showing her the brush. The Zorua started to wag her tail, turning around so Ash could reach the tangled patches of fur on her back from battling and training. As Ash brushed the tangled fur on her back, leaving behind sleek and shiny fur.

As this was going on, Gary entered the campsite with his Rattata and Squirtle following behind. "What's up with you two?" Gary asked as he caught sight of Leaf and Fire snubbing each other.

Fire opened his mouth, but Leaf beat him to it. "I'll tell you what's up!" Leaf shrieked, looking upset. "Fire wants to travel through Diglett's Cave when all his pokemon are weak to rock types! Someone tell him he's an idiot for putting himself and pokemon in danger!" Leaf looked _furious_ as she growled at Fire.

Ash spoke up "Fire, you really shouldn't do that… your Charmander and Pidgey are weak to rock types, and you can't get any grass types or water types other than Magikarp until Cerulean…" Ash trailed off. "...but this isn't even worse discussing until you get to Pewter City, as you have to set out from there." At his words, Fire and Leaf relaxed, but still shot glares at one another. Ash sighed. The next day would be very tiring if they acted like this the whole way.

* * *

The next morning they set out at 8:00 AM. There were even more trainers than yesterday, if that was even possible. Ash got to go first that day, and by the time they were in view of Viridian City, everyone had battled at least four times, and everyone had won each battle. Ash had made about 1,500 pokedollars, and now he had enough for the TM he needed to buy for the gym battle in Pewter.

As they approached the city, it was almost sunset. Clouds were rolling in across the sky, and the smell of rain on the wind. Everyone had all their pokemon out, and Trix was sprawling out in Ash's arms, tired from a tough battle with a trainers Snubbull, since dark-type moves didn't do much against the hideous dog pokemon.

"Hey guys, I heard there was a Spearow flock around here. We should probably be careful, they're vicious little asshols." Ash called out, looking around. The sky was getting darker with storm clouds, and all the trainers ahead had already headed back to the city.

"Don't worry, Ash." Leaf reassured. "No one here is stupid enough to do _anything_ like that, right?" Leaf glared at Fire and Gary, eyebrows raised.

"Nope." Fire said. "_I'm _not an idiot." He glared at Leaf, and they both growled at each other. While that was happening, Gary's Rattata looked around, nose twitching. The rat was getting closer to evolving, with thick tufts of fur turning tawny at the roots, and was thus more aggressive.

Ash turned as he heard as shriek and saw Gray's Rattata running into the tall grass, and heard a second, higher shriek that was definitely not from a Rattata. Ash felt his blood run cold with dread.

Suddenly, Gary's Rattata burst out of the grass with a bloody gash on his face, and was running away towards Viridian City with his ears flat against his skull in fear.

"Guys!" Ash called out, as he saw a bloody-beaked Spearow rising out form the grass with a gleam in its eye. Before anyone could stop it, the Spearow let out a loud, shuddering screech that had the group crying out in pain.

But as they recovered, many more cries echoed from behind them, and Ash whirled around to see a storm as Spearows racing towards them with murder in their eyes.

"Crap. Run!" Ash cried out, as the group stared in horror. Ash took off, puting Trix in her pokeball so he wouldn't be slowed down. Ash didn't look back, hearing his friends following him after recalling their pokemon.

They ran as fast as they could, but the Spearow caught up to them before they could make it to the shelter of the city. "Shit! We gotta face them!" Leaf called out, turning around, and releasing Sage. Gary followed suit and let out Squirtle (with his Rattata having run off), and Fire let out Charmander and Pidgey, who took to the air with a shriek. Ash let out Trix with a "Go! Trix!" and watched as the little Zorua landed on the ground with a growl at the Spearow.

As the Spearow grew closer, Ash could make out about 50 different Spearow in the flock, with two notable Spearow. One was the one that Rattata had attacked, and the other was an usually colored Spearow that seemed to be the leader.

"Everyone! Just try to drive them off!" Ash called, cupping his hands to his mouth. They responded with nods, but Ash felt helpless, as his Zorua knew no ranged moves but Leer. "Just Leer at them until they come close enough for Fury Swipes." He told Trix in a lower volume, and she growled in confirmation.

"Ember!" Ash heard Fire cry, and his Charmander let out out a large Ember at the flock, managing to hit on Spearow on the wing and knock it down out of view.

"Use Bubble, Squirtle!" Gary called, and several bubbles blasted at the birds, slowing them down. However, some of the smarter ones like the leader and the one that the Rattata attacked just broke the bubbles with Peck. Trix helped slightly with Leer, making a few of the Sparrow about to attack the Bubble back off.

"Vine Whip!" Leaf called out, and Sage thrust his vines out, managing to grab to Spearow to fling aside. All together, they had taken out three of the bird pokemon before the flock reached them.

All Ash could see were feathers and all he could hear was the cries of Spearows and sand from Sand Attack. One attack his face and managed to rip his ear, and another stabbed his leg with its beak, leaving a bloody wound that burned.

With a "_Zor_!" Trix jumped onto the Spearow biting Ash's ear and tackling it off, before sending it with a squawk. Ash tuned to the Spearow that bit his leg and kicked it off, and the bird flew into the bush.

"Fall back!" Ash heard, from what sounded like Leaf. "Trix!" Ash called, covering his hands with his face before stumbling away towards the voice. Ash heard a yap and the sounds of paws following him.

Ash almost ran into Fire, who was cradling his injured Pidgey with his Charmander covering his defeat. "Who called the retreat?" Ash called, as met up with Fire as they took cover behind a large boulder.

"Um...I think Leaf?" Fire said, before calling out "Ember!" As a Spearow flew at them, before being scorched by a flame. Fire then returned his Pidgey. "We have to push them back or we'll never make it to Viridan!"

Just then, a wave of Spearow flew at Fire and Ash's face. They cried out and covered their faces, not like it would do much. Trix let out a cry before leaping in front of Ash and Fire, but a roar from Charmander caught the attention of the trainers.

The orange pokemon huffed, smoke pouring out of his nose before the Charmander coughed out a burst of fire that looked better than an Ember, and exploded on contact with a Spearow, knocking down four of them and startling the rest off.

"That was Flame Burst, kinda." Fire said, looking amazed. "It could use some work but…" Fire quickly patted his starters head. "Now, lets try and find the others."

Ash nodded before calling out "Gary! Leaf!" After a moment, they heard a reply they could not make out from ahead. "Lets go!" Ash called, taking off. Finally, the Sand Attack was starting to wear off, and Ash could make out flashes of pokemon battling ahead.

Finally, they burst out of the rest of the sand and came upon Gary, Leaf, and their starters surrounded by most of the Spearow. Ash had been surprised that he wasn't attacked as nearly as much as he should have, but now seeing Gary and Leaf he understood why.

"Guys!" Ash called, as he and Fire joined them. "There are too many! We have to take them down all at once!" As Ash stared down the flock, he noticed a bunch of the Spearow were ethier missing, lame, or laying sprawled on the ground. Also, the discolored Spearow was still up, watching from the front of the line. Ash felt slightly impressed, clearly a leader who liked to be on the front lines.

Leaf though for a moment before nodded. "Okay, then. Sage, use Sweet Scent, then Poison Powder!" With an answering "_Suar_" the bulbasaur released a sweet rise of pale scent into the air. As it washed over the Spearow, slowing them down, before a blast of purple pollan high into the air. Several Spearow shrieked as the Sweet Scent slowed them down, and the Poison Powder sent several Spearow's fleeing or falling to the ground.

Only about eight Spearow remained, one was the one that had been attacked by the Rattata and the other the leader. "Okay, we have to take them out, now!" Gary called. "Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Squirtle nodded, before letting out a powerful blast of water. Two of the Spearow fell, but the others dodged. One dove with a Fury attack, and the rest except the leader used peck. The leader summoned three elemental balls. One was a pale blue, one was flickering with flame, and one was crackling with static.

"Is that Tri Attack?" Gary gasped. Sage hit one of the Spearow out of the air, and Charmander hit three others out with Flame Burst.

"Dibs!" Leaf called joyfully, pointing at the leader Spearow, who was shaking with light poisoning.

Ash just sighed, amused. "Go, Trix!" Ash said, and his Zorua jumped off his head before crying out "_Zor_!" and hitting the last normal Spearow with a Fury Attack. It fell with a cry, knocked out on the ground. Now only the leader was left, confused without it's flock.

Leaf grinned and threw a pokeball at the Spearow. "Go, pokeball!" She called, watching as the pokeball fly towards the Spearow, who couldn't move from the combination of Sweet Scent and Poison Powder. The pokeball sucked in the golden spearow, and rocked about five times before tinging.

Leaf grinned. "Yes!" She picked the pokeball up. "Hello, King." The ball wobbled slightly, before Leaf tucked it away.

Ash turned to his group. They all were pretty beat up, with Ash and Trix probably being the worst because they could barely fight back. Ash was quite furious he could do so little to help, and vowed to teach Trix some ranged moves.

Gary and Squirtle had a few scratches, and Leaf and Sage were mostly fine because of the ranged attacks he had.

"Lets...lets go to Viridian…" Ash said, staggering. The stab wound in his thigh felt like fire, and Trix was panting, laying in the dust. "Return." Ash said, calling his Zorua back into her ball.

"Umph!' Ash said, as he tried to move his leg. He managed to be able to take his steps, but fresh blood steamed. He hid his pain, however, and followed his friends to Viridian City, which was only a few moments away.

When they arrived, the few people out so late were looking at them with emotions ranging from anger to concern. After a few minutes, they arrived in the Pokemon Center. As they came in, the Nurse Joy ran up to them.

"We saw your battle." She said, looking very concerned. "By the time we were able to get ready, you had already won. Now, who here who's hurt." Leaf and Gary pointed to Ash, who looked at them, offended, while Fire held out his Pidgeys pokeball. "Fire's Pidgey is unconscious and hurt pretty bad, and Ash and his pokemon had no ranged moves so…" Gary called, shrugging. "Me and Leaf just have a few scratches, and our pokemon could use some rest."

Nurse Joy nodded, and a Chancy came up with a tray with several indentions for pokeballs. "Please place your pokemon here." Everyone returned the pokemon still out and put them on the tray. "Now, I will take you to the Exam Room." Nurse Joy said, leading them to a pure white room. Ash groaned, he hated doctors. This was going to be a long examination.

* * *

After the examination, Ash had two bandages around his leg and some pills to take. After going to the room he was given, Ash remembered the egg and checked on it in a panic. As he pulled the egg out, he sighed in relief. The egg had no cracks, however Ash felt a slight tremor in the egg. He looked at the egg in amazement, and felt a grin cross his face. The egg was close to hatching. Knowing that, Ash put the egg by his bed on a blanket and curled into his bed. Even though it had only been less than a week, Ash fell asleep missing his partner.


	3. A New Friend

**Okay, so in this chapter, stuff actually happens other than traveling. Ash gets a companion, an oc of mine. Sorry for the long break, I and this chapter SHOULD be longer than most others I believe as this one is a bit boring at first, however the plot is moved along. Also, there will be no shipping between the pair. **

* * *

When Ash woke up to the sun shining down on his face. He blinked slowly, wondering where Trix was, before sitting up with a loud yawn. He let out a cry as he felt a sting from his thigh, before he felt memories rush back to his head, from the Spearow attack to them arriving at the Pokemon Center.

"Crap." Ash said as he got up, pulling his pajamas off and putting his jacket and shoes back on before turning to face the egg, after checking the time. It was about 6:45. The egg was still uncracked, but every now and then Ash heard a thumping sound from the baby. Ash had heard rumors that pokemon in egg's could hear the people speaking to them, and form a stronger bond. That in mind, Ash turned to the egg.

"Hello, Egg." Ash spoke softly, picking up the egg in his arms. It was cool, and rather heavy, and occasionally shook slightly. "My name's Ash." The trainer continued. "Your Father, a Noctowl, gave you to me to protect, because his mate, your mother, was gone." The egg gave a light kick, and Ash smiled before rubbing the shell gently. "I can't wait for you to hatch! You are going to be so strong, and cute! I believe you are probably going to be a flying type, as you were laid in a tree. I think you might be a Starmory, or maybe an Swablu! One day, together, I'll fly on your back, and we'll explore Kanto and all the other regions together, and you'll be so strong!" Ash _definitely_ felt a tremble from the egg that time, and he smiled. "I hope you hatch soon! I can't wait to meet you." With that, Ash tucked the egg into his backpack.

Ash then grabbed his backpack before standing up, checking his bandages and swallowing his medicine. Ash came out of his room and to the lobby, before stopping at the desk, where Nurse Joy looked up. "Did you have a good rest? How can I help you?" She greeted.

Ash smiled back. "I'm here to pick up my pokemon, a Zorua. Also, can you check out my egg real fast, and did any of the people I came in with come out yet?"

The Nurse Joy smiled. "Yes, here is you pokemon." She reached beneath her desk for a moment before bringing out Trix's pokeball. "A word of advice? When you get more pokemon, find a way to tell them apart so you don't send out the wrong pokemon." Ash nodded, thinking ways to tell them apart as he picked up Trix's pokeball before clipping the ball to his belt.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash said as he carefully put the egg on the counter. The Nurse looked at the egg carefully, before looking up and smiling.

"Congratulation! Your egg is extremely close to hatching! Where did you get this egg, by the way? It seems to be a pokemon not found here in Kanto…" Ash quickly explained, and the Nurse nodded. "Ah, that explains. Here, take these." The Nurse passed over a few sheets of paper and a white bag of supplies. "This is baby pokemon food, for when it hatches." The Nurse smiled. "Also, I saw your friends leave for breakfast and they gave me a message for you, to find them at Gramps Pancakes, down the street."

Ash smiled. "Thank you so much, Nurse Joy!" Ash said, putting the baby supplied and egg back into the backpack before zipping it up and running out the door, before staring in amazement at the city around him.

Viridian City was _big_. All around, people were walking with all types of pokemon. Ash spotted a few Ponyta pulling carts around, bird pokemon flying around, and lots of ground type pokemon and bugs, which made sense because of the Gym and Viridian Forest nearby. There were bigger cities in the regions, and Ash was sure Saffron City was bigger than this, but Ash felt amazed at the size.

But what captured Ash's attention was on the buildings. They toward into the sky, and blocked Ash's view to the north and south. Nearby, he spotted a map and dashed over. The map was huge, almost taking up the whole side of the building, and a star marked where he was. Ash saw at least three other pokemon centers in the city, the one he was at being one of the bigger ones being close to the edge of town. So many restaurants and shops were shown, Ash had a frustrating time finding Gramps Pancakes, before managing to spot the location and took off as fast as he could.

After a few minutes of pushing and shoving through a crowd, Ash made it to Gramp's Pancakes, which was crowded. Ash looked around for his group, before hearing a cry and whirling around.

Leaf, Gary, and Fire were sitting at a round table, menus in hand. Fire was reading in his pokedex, with Charmander curled up by his side and Pidgey on his shoulder. Gary was holding a pokeball carefully, looking a mix between wary and relieved, as his Squirtle looked around, bored. Leaf was the one that had called Ash over, with Sage watching the city around them and King, her new Spearow, on her shoulder.

Ash grinned and called out "Hey, guys." Before easing into the last open seat and releasing Trix onto the table, who shook her mane out before turning to Ash with a "_Zor_!" as she bounced over to him, tackling him and snuggling into his chest. "Hello, girl. Good morning!" The Zorua let out a purring sound, and Ash looked up at Gary, who hadn't looked up from the pokeball. "Hey Gary, whose ball is that?"

"Hm?" Gary looked up. "Oh! Rattata was found and someone brought him to me. We had a chat, but I'm not going to take him out of his ball again in such a crowded place until he has fully evolved." Gary sighed before putting the ball away. Ash felt glad he didn't have a tempermental pokemon like that.

After that, the waited took their orders and the group of trainers at around silently for a bit.

Ash sighed. "So, what's going on, and what are your guys plans?" Ash asked, as he gently stroked Trix, who was stretched out in the sun as she watched the city around her with wide eyes.

Fire looked up from his pokedex, slight smile on his face. "I'm leaving after breakfast, I need to get Celadon City as fast as possible, and hopefully catch a few different pokemon capable of fighting the gyms." Leaf sighed at that. She still didn't look happy, but she also seemed relieved that Fire wasn't going through the Diglett Tunnel.

Gary spoke next. "I'm going to Pewter after this as well, I need to work on training with Rattata." Then the food arrived, and Ash got this waffles with berries on the top, while Fire and Gary got pancakes. Leaf got french toast, and all the pokemon got kibble.

For a while everyone just ate, so ash decided to start the conversation up again. "So," Ash said, taking a sip of his MooMoo Milk. "I'm gonna stay here for a bit, until the egg hatches, and it's already so close! Then I'll travel to Pewter then...I don't know yet. Leaf?" Ash turned to the trainer, who was stroking King. The Spearow was beginning to get restless, clacking his beak and shuffling his wings.

Leaf smiled proudly. "Sage is getting closer to evolving." She said, pointing at the Bulbasaur. His leaves on his bulb were starting to curl backwards, and you could see a hint of fang from under his mouth. "Also, King is the newest member of mt team, and I'm going to use him against Brock. I'm leaving in a few days."

Ash smiled. "Then it sounds like Fire and Gary should travel together, until Pewter City. We probably won't see each other for a while after this." Ash said, a bit sorrowfully.

"Yah…" Fire said softly…"...but when we do, our pokemon will be even more powerful and we'll be battling!" A flame seemed to burn in Fire's eyes as he stood up.

"Yah… and I'll beat your misrible asses again!" Gary crowed, standing up and returning his Squirtle.

"Wait." Leaf said seriously. Everyone turned to her. "Who's gonna pay?"

* * *

An hour later, and Gary and Fire had departed, and Ash was searching for a pokemart, as he needed to pick up supplies and such. After checking the map three different times, Ash finally found a pokemart. A pokemart would have basic supplies like pokeballs, but most didn't have TM's and evolutionary stones, as well as other advanced items.

Ash ask stepped into the store, Trix, on his shoulder, started to wag her tail happily. The store was relatively empty, probably because all the supplies here and more were sold in department stores. The few people around were busy looking at supplies, and checking out at the counter.

First thing first, Ash went to find the pokemon food. Trix needed an actual meal. After scanning the shelves, Ash couldn't find a food brand he liked for his pokemon, and decided to make his own. Also, this would be cheaper because Ash only had about 3,500 pokedollars, and the first 2000 was from his mother, unused because Fire paid for breakfast. After grabbing his supplies, like different kinds of berries, food for him, vitamins and cooking equipment, Ash then moved over to the brushing supplies and picked out a few new brushes.

Ash also picked a few utensils and plates, and pokemon food bowls before turning to the medical portion of the pokemart. He picked out ten more potions, several status healers, and even three revives.

After checking out, Ash had spent 1,800 pokedollars on the supplies, and had only 200 pokedollars left from his mom. Ash then went to the lobby of the pokemon center, leaving his bags in the room. In the lobby were three other trainers. Two of them were just talking, but Ash's attention was caught by the third person.

It was a girl with black hair that had pale blue tips that went down to her back tied up in a messy braid. She looked a little older than Ash, but about the same age as him. The girl had a strange pokemon in her arms. The pokemon looked like a Vulpix with five tails, but had pure white and curly fur. The girl was reading from hat looked like a pokedex, but delicate and futuristic compared to Ash's. He pulled out his pokedex to scan the white pokemon, but frowned when no data was available.

Ash walked up to the girl and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me?"The girl turned around with a sound of surprise, almost dropping her pokedex. The girls blue eyes were wide, looking startled and slightly panicked for a second before asking a tense. "Yes?" She looked at him, before her gaze traveled to Trix.

Ash startled for a moment, taken about by her wary tone, "Oh! Yes, this is Trix. Im Ash Ketchum. I'm wondering why your Vulpix is white, but doesnt seem to be an albino." Ash also noticed an ultra ball on the girls belt next to a pokeball that was likely the strange pokemons.

The girl scanned his face before relaxing slightly, becoming more friendly. "Hello, Ash. Im Celene, and this is Aurora. She is an Alolan Vulpix from my hometown, so she's ice type instead of fire." Celene nodded to the white fox cub in her arms, who let out a sleepy "_Pix_." She then put her pokemon down, and after a second Trix jumped down and the fox pokemon started playing.

"Anyway, Aurora here is an ice type, even thought I heard Vulpix here are fire types. I'm hoping to use her in the Pewter Gym soon…" The girl trailed off, stiffing up as though she was worried she had said to much.

Ash smiled at her. "It's okay! I'm also doing the Gym Challenge. So, your going to Pewter City next?" At a hesitant nod in Ash's direction, Ash continued "Then why don't we travel together? At least, for now. I came here in a group but we split up so I'm alone now and our pokemon really get along together." At that, Ash and Celene turned to look at their pokemon, happily playing. Ash would never of admitted it, but he was scared of going off alone on a journey with only Trix and whatever pokemon he caught. He had never been alone in his life like this, and this girl not only had a pokedex, but it seemed like she needed a freind as well.

The girl paused. "I would like too… but I have official business here for a few weeks, and can't leave yet. I don't wanna slow you down…"

Ash grinned. "That's the perfect part! Im planning on staying here for a few reasons. One, I have a pokemon egg that is close to hatching that I don't wanna hatch in Viridian Forest. Two, I need to make enough money to buy a few TM's. I'm sure we can both train our pokemon during this time! So what do you say?"'

Celene looked shocked, before smiling. "Okay the, Ash. I've never been with a partner on a…" She cut herself off and crossed her arms over her shoulders as if feeling the ghost of old pain. Aurora stopped from where they were playing with Trix and came to Celene's boots, whimpering. With a smile, Celene reached down to pet her. "I'm fine, Ra." She said before standing back up. "Okay then when do we leave?"

* * *

Celene, it turned out, was a pokedex holder as well, even if her pokedex was a bit more advanced and delicate. From what little Ash got out of her from her past, the Professor from Alola, Professor Kukui sent Celene to be basically an some kind of ambassador from Alola, and for her to research and capture some of the pokemon here that were different or did not exist at all in Aloha. Something that Ash noticed but never asked about what that besides her Vulpix's balls, Celene had an ultra ball she never opened. Sometimes, Ash caught her staring at it with an unreadable expression, but always looked away when she noticed Ash looking.

So when Ash was out battling trainers, Celene was usually doing her own thing, photographing wild pokemon and sometimes catching interesting ones. She often came back with several pokeballs with Kanto pokemon inside before sending them to Kukui. Ash once asked her why she did not even name them, and Celene responded that she did not consider them hers, but the professors. However, nothing interesting truly happened until the end of the second week. Ash had only lost once, to someone who had a Heracross, and he was taking Trix back to get healed after a successful battle against a trainers Metapod. One thing Ash noticed was that Celene never battled in public, and he only knew that she got her Vulpix as her starter. Ash also had a suspension that whatever was in the ultra ball was the reason she had caught so many pokemon, especially the fact Ash found out she once caught a high level Nidorino. When he asked how, Celene just turned and mumbled something under her breath.

When they arrived at the pokecenter, Celene went to a nearby computer to transfer the pokemon she had just caught away after handing Nurse Joy the pokeball of her Vulpix for healing, while Ash handed Trix over to be healed with a smile. Ash was worried that his egg had not hatched yet, but the pokemon inside was still healthy from what the nurse said, just not ready to come out yet.

It only took about an hour for Trix and Aurora to be healed, since the pokemon center was practically empty and they were barely hurt. While they waited, Ash held the egg in his arms and spoke gentle words of encouragement while Celene quietly read some kind of manga book. Ash had enough money now to buy one reusable TM, so after Trix was healed he was going to go to the pokemart. The pokemart did not have as wide of a variety as he wished, but he knew what move he wanted to teach her already, and as a popular move the pokemart should have some for sale.

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound, and purple gas flooded the lobby. "Celene!" Ash called out, standing with egg in arms and looking around wildly for his friend, starting to panic.

"Here!" A voice called, and Ash felt Celene grab his elbow. "Stay together." She warned. Ash glanced at the girl who looked rather panicked, eyes darting around the smog and clutching the ultra ball she never seemed to use.

Finally, the smoke cleared, revealing three figures standing in the middle of the pokecenter. "Prepare for Trouble." A feminine voice called out, and another voice responded "Make that double." "To protect the world from devastation!" "To unite all people within our nation." "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" Now the smoke was completely cleared and Ash could make out a woman with long red hair and a man with short blue hair, along with an Arbok and Weezing. Between them all was a meowth standing on hind legs.

"Jesse!" The red haired woman called out, the man following her with "James!" "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" "Meowth! That's right!" The last line was said from the meowth, and Ash almost started. He had never heard of pokemon that could actually speak human language.

"Now, hand over all your pokemon!" The red haired woman called, the Arbok beside her hissing menacly. "And that egg while your at it, Twerp!" The woman looked right at Ash, seemingly not noticing the ultra ball in Celene's hand.

Nurse Joy looked alarmed but spoke up "But there are only weak and sick pokemon here." She called out.

For a moment the grunts looked confused before shaking their heads. "Well, there are probably rare pokemon here as well!" The man called out, the Meowth echoing him with a _yeah_.

Ash was scared. He had no pokemon other than the egg on him, and he _would not_ give them his pokemon. He would die first. With that though, Ash moved between the grunts and Nurse Joy. "You will have to get through me first." The Grunts looked gleeful at this, and their pokemon stepped forward.

Celene then stepped forward boldly. "Stop!" She called out. "Leave now, or, or I'll make you." She raised the ultra ball up. Ash could tell she was frightened, but determined, and envied her courage.

The female grunt's eyes widened, before narrowing angrily. "You twerp! We'll show you how strong Team Rocket is! Get in there! You too, Meowth!" The Arbock, Weezing, and Meowth stepped forward. "Now hand over your pokemon, and maybe we will let you live."

"Omen, help!" Celene called, throwing her ultra ball. In a flood of black light, a white pokemon emerged. The pokemon was like a mix between a goat and a cat, with long claws, covered in white fur, and the most noticeable feature, a scythe-like blade from the side of it's head. The pokemon stared across the room with narrowed red eyes. Ash felt his blood freeze. Celene had an Absol. They were rare pokemon, known for warning people of disaster to come, and said to be tighty in tune with nature. Omen also had beautiful steel cuffs around both his paws, and another cuff around his neck with a blue and white stone right in the center. Ash wondered what that stone was before turning back to the battle.

The Team Rocket members were too dumb to realize what kind of danger they were getting themselves into. Jesse and James seemed to be daydreaming about the money they would make from Omen, and Meowth was purring with his eyes closed. Only the Arbok and Weezing looked scared, almost hiding behind their trainers and shivering from the dark glare.

That continued for an embarrassingly long time, and only stopped when Jesse shook herself off. "Why are you two standing around! Get in there!" With that, the Arbok and Weezing unhappily slithered and floated forward, but they got ready to attack anyway. Ash was impressed; the pokemon were clearly loyal to their trainers. Then the battle finally started.

"Abrok! Crunch!" "Weezing, use Sludge!" The Abrok's mouth shone with dark energy and it lunged forward, while the Weezing fired a smelly purple blob at the Absol. Ash held his breath. 2v1 was hardly fair.

Celene gave no orders, watching the fight nervously. Omen dodged the Sludge, before hitting Arbok quickly and quietly, the only sound coming from the snake pokemon's cry of pain as it fell to the ground with a shallow gash that oozed a purplish blood. Omen then landed gracefully and turned to face the Weezing. The Rockets looked panicked, as if they just realized how out of their league they were.

"Tackle, Weezing!" The blue haired grunt cried out, and the purple ball flew forward with a cough sound.

The Absol's head glowed pink before the pokemon rammed into the Weezing with full force, causing a small blast that shot the Weezing into the wall, still uncommanded. Omen then stood over both fallen pokemon and stared down the grunts.

"Viridian City Police! Hands up!" Called an officer Jenny as she burst into the pokemon center, two rangers and an Arcanine by her side.

The Officer blinked in surprise at the scene before turning to Omen, who walked back over to Celene's side and scanned the room for more danger. Celene then blushed. "That's my Absol, sorry. He defended us."

After a moment, the Officer then turned to the Rocket Grunts, who had attempted to sneak away. "Hands up, you three! You are under arrest and have the right to remain silent." The Rangers hurried to arrest the grunts and Officer Jenny turned to Ash and Celene. "Did you two witness the whole event?" At their nods, the officer continued "Then please come with me."

* * *

About half an hour later, Ash and Celene sat in front of Officer Jenny. By then Ash and Celene had their pokemon back. Trix sat in Ash's lap, and Celene clung on to Aurora like a lifeline. Omen stood guard by the door, seemingly not ready to go back in his pokeball.

"Okay, your retelling has been noted and will be used against those two idiots in court." Officer Jenny straightened up the forms she had filled out as she spoke. "But what I really want to know is why a trainer without one gym badge has a Absol high enough to defeat two other pokemon 2v1." The officer turned to stare at Celene, who was looking uncomfortable. Ash hoped that the officer would not take Omen from Celene.

After a stretch of silence, the girl spoke. "My mother gifted him to me to protect me when I went to Kanto, from people who might wish me harm."

The Officer looked at Celene, before looking down at the file again. Her eyes widened in shock. "Your name is Celene Lily Serene?" Ash looked at Celene, confused why the officer was asking. Celene slowly nodded, blushing. Officer Jenny sighed. "Alright then. I have real authority to take this pokemon from you, as neither of you are from here and you have good reason to own it, but make sure not to let him get out of hand." Celene nodded and promised that Omen would behave. Ash was still confused why Celene would need a guard as powerful as Absol seemed to be.

Officer Jenny sighed again before smiling. "Well, now onto some more pleasant topics." Ash sat up, interested. "The Viridian City Police Department has decided on giving both of you a reward for this."

"What?" Ash blurted out. "But...but…Celene did everything! I didn't even have a pokemon…" Ash looked down and sighed as he remembered how helpless he had felt. Trix let out a soft yelp and nosed him gently.

"On the contrary." The officer replied. "You were prepared to give your life up to protect those pokemon. Thus, I give you two these." The officer slid two slips of paper over to the two. Ash picked one up and froze when he saw what was written down.

"Your giving us a pass to the Safari Zone?" Ash asked, wide eyed. The Safari Zone was heaven for a pokemon trainer. Rare pokemon from all regions were available there. Scyther, Dratini, Pinsir, Riolu, Larvitar and more. "Aren't we too weak?" Not long ago a trainer had died after stumbling upon a pair of angry Nidoking, and the Safari Zone was closed for renovation and had recently reopened.

But the Officer was shaking her head. "I don't mean for you to go now. People are allowed to bring their own pokemon in now to help out. By the time you get to Saffron, your pokemon should be enough to protect you, as long as that Absol." The officer nodded at the Absol. "Also, you get to split the bounty for those Grunts. They are some of the most active and recognizable members out there, even if they aren't powerful."

The officer pushed two checks over. Ash grabbed his. It had a check for 5000 poke. Not a huge amount, but enough for Ash to buy and extra ™ and some more pokeballs if needed.

Celene picked her check up as well. "Thank you." She said softly, putting the paper away in bag. "Is it okay if we leave now?" Celene pulled out her ultra ball and returned Omen at the Officers nod. Ash hurried after Celene as she almost ran out of the building. "Hey! Wait up!" Ash called as he chased her through the crowds of people, finally catching up to her when they arrived at an empty battlefield.

Ash felt confused as he wondered why Celene had ran off. She had a very strong Absol, her last name was Serene, she was from Alola… Ash's eyes widened as he realized why Officer Jenny had let Celene keep Omen.

Celene was sitting on a bench with her head in her hands. Aurora was out and was trying to reassure her trainer, but Celene still looked miserable. "I'm sorry for running off." Celene said softly as Ash sat next to her.

"Don't be. I don't think any different of you." Ash reassured. Celene looked up at him, her pale blue eyes tearful.

"Really? Part of the reason I came to Kanto was because in Alola, I was easily recognized. Everyone wanted me to match up to my mother, to be as great as her. I know people don't think Im strong enough to be a champions daughter, yet they still try to become my friend for the pure reason of meeting my mother. I just became tired of it after a while and left…" Celene trailed of. "Im also one of the first Alolan to come to Kanto since the war!"

Celene's mother was Luna Serene. The first champion of the Alola region, being only sixteen when she became the champion. Her most famous and well known pokemon were her Absol named Elegance, Mischief the Mimikyu, and Puff the Shiny Lopunny. Ash had not watched many of her battles, but he knew the Champion was powerful, and specified mostly in Dark and Fairy.

Ash turned to Celene. "Celene. Who your mother is doesn't impact me in any way. It's just about who you are. I want to travel with you for _you_, not your mother. What do you say?" Ash held out a hand.

Celene smiled before grabbing his hand. "Okay then, Ash. I accept. I know this is a strange offer, but do you want to have a battle?" Celene gestured around. "We never had one yet, and this seems to be the perfect time to do so." Aurora let out a yip of excitement.

Ash turned to Trix, who looked just as excited. "Sure!" Ash called out, and they walked onto opposite sides of the field. "Just don't sick Omen on me!"

Aurora jumped onto the field with a soft bark, and Trix followed. "Your move!" Celene called to Ash, grinning.

"Alright then!" Ash called out. "Trix, use Scratch!" With a yelp the fox pokemon raced forward, claws glowing with soft white light.

"Ra! Use Icy Wind on the ground!" Celene called, and Aurora let out a trill before blowing out a steam of cold air onto the ground in front of her. Ash was confused until he Trix ran onto the ice and slipped with a yelp. "Now Tackle!" The ice type charged along the ice smoothly, barreling towards Trix.

"Trix! Meet her with Fury Swipes!" The Zorua scrambled up and met the ice type as she approached, taking damage from the Tackle but managing to rake three swipes down the white pokemons side.

"Close range Ice Shard!" Celene called out as Aurora yelped in pain, before she raised her tails and summoned three icy chunks and hurled them at Trix. She managed to dodge all but one, the Zorua yelping as the ice burst against her. The two foxes met each other's gaze, growling, Ash and Celene watching. Ash was about to call other command when he felt the bag in his arms shake strongly and start to glow.

"Stop!" Ash called, as the others turned towards him. Ash quickly grabbed his egg from the bag. The egg was shaking quickly and glowing softly. Ash felt Trix jump onto his shoulder again, and Celene and Aurora watching from a bit farther away so they would not disturb the bond between Ash and the baby pokemon.

The egg gave one last shake the and light grew harsher, causing Ash to look away for a moment. When Ash looked back, he saw a baby pokemon sitting where the egg once was.

The baby pokemon looked like it was still mostly inside the egg, but it's little spikey head was popping out. That long with the arms and feet were a pale color, and Ash watched as little brown eyes opened and met his. "_Togi_!" The baby pokemon cried out, reaching its little arms out happily. "Meet our new teammate, Trix." Ash said happily as he gazed at the pokemon that he distantly remembered.

Grabbing his Pokedex, Ash hit a button and watched as the machine scanned the baby pokemon. A picture was pulled up of the same pokemon, and Ash listened as the Pokedex spoke. '_Togepi, the Spikey Egg Pokemon. __As energy, Togepi uses the positive emotions of compassion exuded by people and Pokémon. This Pokémon stores up feelings of happiness inside its shell, then shares them with others. Togepi are Fairy Type pokemon that evolve into Togetic when leveled up with high happiness. This Togepi is male and knows the moves Growl, Charm, and Foresight. Note, Foresight is an egg move. This Togepi has the ability Serene Grace, and the Naive Nature'_

Ash closed the pokedex, happy with his new teammate. Not only did this save him the trouble of finding a rare fairy type, when Togepi evolved into Togekiss Ash would be able to fly on it's back. "Hello little guy." Ash said, lifting the Togepi up gently. "Welcome to the team. This is Trix." Trix giggled at the baby, who laughed right back. "Do you want a name?" It might seem strange to ask this to a newborn, but pokemon's brains develop more inside the egg so by the time they hatch they are ready to start to learn how to battle, and can understand most things rather well.

The baby Togepi nodded happily. "Alright then…" Ash though for a moment, before listing off a few names. Toga and Wish were immediately shut down, but Dash was considered before being thrown out. Ash followed the Togepi's gaze to the sky, before getting and idea for a name. "What about Aether? It means clear sky." After a few seconds the Togepi nodded gleefully. "Okay, Aether then." The Togepi seemed happy with this so Ash continued "And may I catch you so you can become a member of my team? I train you to get stronger and to, one day, evolve." Aether nodded almost immediately. "Okay then." Ash pushed a pokeball over to Aether, who tapped the ball and got sucked inside. The ball didn't even shake, just immediately let out a ding to signify capture.

As Ash left Aether out, Celene walked over. "Congrats." She smiled, Aurora in her arms giving a yelp as well. Aether look at them, curious.

"Aether, there are Celene and Aurora. They will be traveling with us." Ash smiled down at Aether. "So, are you ready to leave tomorrow?" Ash asked Celene.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Just gotta grab a few more things. I'm hoping to catch a bug type in the forest, as it's migration time and a lot of rare pokemon can be found there right now."

"Great!" Ash grinned. "Tomorrow we can take off then." Ash turned to the setting sun. "I'm ready, Pewter! Come on, guys!" Ash picked up Aether in his arms and ran towards the pokecenter, laughing gleefully, excited for the challenge up ahead.

* * *

The next morning a bit before noon they met just outside the city. "Okay, Viridian Forest is up ahead." Celene called after looking up from her map. "The path ahead is relatively clear, so we should reach the forest in a few hours, if we travel fast and have no pokemon battles. However, getting through the forest might take a few days, so I recommend stopping outside the forest for the night."

"Sure!" Ash agreed. "So, what did you buy?" Ash had managed to buy three TM for his pokemon, two reusable and one not. It had cost a lot of his money, but they were his keys for beating Brock's Onix.

Celene smiled. "I bought a Technical Machine of Hail and another of Frost Breath. And a few other things… I was thinking we should teach our pokemon the moves now, before heading out so they can use them in battle."

Ash blinked. He hadn't considered that. "Sure. Do you have your own TM Case?" Ash asked. TM Cases were how you stored Technical Machines and used them. You simply put the shrunken pokeball into the small slot at the top and selected what move you wanted your pokemon to learn. Then, the knowledge on how to use the move was downloaded into them, and they could use the move instantly, but still need practice to reach their full potential.

Celene nodded. "Yep." She pulled out her own TM Case and slid her disks in before inserting Auroras pokeball. Pokemon should only be taught about 3 TM moves a week, so they aren't overwhelmed by power and knowledge. Also, as a general rule, it was harder for pokemon to learn elements that did not correspond well with their typing. So an ice type learning a water move? Fine. But psychic type learning dark or ghost moves would be much harder.

A soft whirring noise filled the air. Trix's pokeball glowed a soft white first, then a ghostly purple color that made Ash shiver slightly. Lastly was a green color that seemed to release the smell of a wet forest, then there was a soft flash of red that alerted him that his one-time disk was used up. Ash smiled as he took Trix's ball out. Ash wished he could teach Aether a move, but he probaly should be a few days older before learning a TM, just in case. Instead, Ash would have him practice Charm and Growl.

Ash turned to Celene, who was already done as she only did half as many moves as he did. "You ready?" She asked, holding Auroras pokeball. "Let's test our moves out in that clearing," The girl tilted her head to a nearby clearing, that had plenty of old scorch marks and indentions to show it had been used for this very purpose before.

"Aether! Trix! Come out!" Ash called, enlarging then tossing two pokeballs into the air. Trix and Aether burst into existence in a flash of scarlet. Trix looked excited to be able to use new moves, while Aether was clueless to Trix's excitement.

Celene also called Aurora out. "You can go ahead, Ash. I'll go after you." Ash smiled at his friend before calling to Trix "Alright, girl. Start with Shadow Ball!" Trix barked and opened her mouth, a blob of purple energy forming. It stopped after a bit and Trix blasted it off at the tree. There was a small explosion and a burst of leaves, and when Ash turned to look there was a indention in the middle of the tree. "Good job girl, we just need to work on charging your power up. Your turn, Aether." Ash turned to the baby pokemon, who had watched in amazement. "I didn't teach you any TM's yet, but I will in a few days. So can you try out Charm and Growl on Trix?" Ash asked. Aether trilled before facing Trix and scowling. Even the Growl looked adorable on the Togepi's tiny face. Trix hesitated for a moment, like the move's purpose was supposed to be. Then Aether used charm, jumping up and down and squealing in happiness, before looking at Trix with wide eyes. Ash grinned as Trix's heart seemed to melt, as she let out a soft whine. Ash almost had to laugh at how enraptured Trix looked at the cute baby.

"Alright! Good job." Ash was impressed for the baby's first time using a move."We are going to try and teach you Metronome on the way to Pewter." Even though Metronome had the potential to be a very dangerous move, it would be best to teach to Aether as young as possible so he would not be able to do any terribly destructive moves. Ash would also have to look out for self destruction moves. Very few pokemon could use those moves and be okay, and the Togepi lines were not one of those.

Ash then turned to Celene. "I need your help for this one, so you can use it on Trix when I say so."

"You sure?" Celene asked. At Ash's nod, she called "Okay then, Aurora! Get ready to use Frost Breath on my command!" The Vulpix stood solidly and took a breath in.

"Trix! Use Protect!" Ash called. His pokemon yipped in response and created a dome of green energy just before Aurora released her attack. The white fox pokemon breathed out a steady stream of ice cold air that would dig into any target it landed on and grow colder, causing damage. The collision formed a cloud of steam, and when Ash and Celene glanced back, Trix was standing with a flickering Protect and Aurora was wagging her tails proudly.

"Good job, Aurora." Celene called to her pokemon. "We can't practice Hail, but I'm sure you can naturally get the hang of it!" It was currently to hot for the ice type to be able to pull off Hail.

"Good job as well, Trix." Ash said, stroking the fox pokemon who helped happily. "Okay then, let's get going!" Ash turned to find Celene already holding her bag and with Aurora by her side with a smirk.

"Whoever reaches the next trainer first gets to battle them~" Celene called in a sing-songy voice before turning and racing off.

"Hey!" Yelped Ash as he returned Aether before taking after Celene, laughing as they both ran towards their next challenge.


	4. Pewter City

**Over 2,000 Views? I'm shocked. Also, I hope none of you get angry for the pokemon I'm about to incorporate. Only about three of Ash's pokemon are native to Kanto, and only two of Celene's are so far! Also, sorry, but Ash is not getting a Scyther. I considered, but decided not to for reasons you will see sometime. Also, I will start to add a list at the end of chapters, for who has what pokemon. **

* * *

Ash stared around the forest warily. He had just taken his first step into the Viridian Forest at dawn, Trix on his shoulder and Aether in his arms. Almost immediately, Ash had felt the humidity increase, and couldn't stop himself from wiping his forehead with his arm.

Behind him was Celene. She was clutching Aurora in her arms and was looking around excitedly. Ash faintly remembered her mentioning that she was looking for a strong bug type pokemon.

"Celene!" Ash called. "How far do you think we are gonna need to travel to find the pokemon you want?" Even though Ash didn't want a bug type, he was not going to let Celene go off alone in a forest full of dangerous bug types. Ash shivered at the thought of a Beedrill attack, but since Trix now had protect and Shadow Ball they might be able to survive.

"Probably in the center." Celene answered. "Nothing wrong with Caterpie or Weedle, but I want something that can be a permanent member of my team." Celene grinned. "After all, Omen won't be used in normal pokemon battles or gyms."

Ash almost shivered at the mention of Omen. He was in his pokeball for the moment because trainers became too scared to battle when they saw him, but Ash had a theory he was the son of Celene's mothers Absol, who was terrifying in battle. Last night Ash had decided to watch Celene's mothers most recent battle, where Elegance the Absol had swept four pokemon in a row before being taken out by a lucky shot. If Omen was the son of Elegance, who was known as the most powerful wild-caught Absol owned by a trainer, then Omen might one day surpass her.

Speaking of Omen, Ash wanted to know "Hey Celene? What's the stone that Omen has on his neck cuff?" The stone was quite valuable, and Ash doubted Celene or her mother were the type to have a pokemon have jewelry for decoration.

Celene stopped for a moment. Ash stopped as well and turned to look towards her. "I'm not really sure." The girl confessed. "I know it used to be my mothers, but she gave that to me along with Omen and this." The girl rolled up his left slevel to show a cuff not unlike Omen's with a bigger, clear white stone that had traces of blue that matched Celene's eyes, and Ash caught a glimpse of a black bracelet with a Z shape in the middle and strangely, no gem. . "I protested, but Mother insisted she could get another, and that one day I would need it more." Celene sighed and rolled the sleeve down, not mentioning the other bracelet. Ash decided not to ask after Celene clearly ended the conversation.

Ash was about to ask another question when suddenly a young boy clutching a few pokeballs burst out of the forest. "Hey! Try and beat my team of six Weedles! Go, Weedle!" With a flash a tiny weedle appeared. Ash and Celene sighed as one. This would be a long day.

* * *

The first day of travel was long and tiring. Ash and Celene had at least five battles each, and were less than halfway through the forest. They had set up camp in a small clearing, but decided not to make a fire so they wouldn't attract any Beedrill. Instead, they decided to head to bed early later. Of course, they got some battle training in. Ash was throwing small rocks at Trix, who was ethier countering with her own or using Protect, while Aether was watching and cheering them on. Ash had began teaching Sweet Kiss to Aether, and planned to teach him Foresight and Shadow Ball when they got to Pewter, but the Togepi wasn't quite ready to learn TM 's for a few days. This way, Aether was more motivated , and Trix was able to make hers more accurate and practice Protect. Ash congratulated them on everything they got right, and after practiced brushed them gently. Ash found out that what looked like skin on Aether's head were really many very small and soft feathers that would lighten up when he evolved into Togetic, eventually becoming pure white.

Celene, however, was working on a combo move that she called "Ice Spear." All that it took was Aurora creating a few large, sharp chunks of ice with Ice Shard, then shooting them with a powerful blast of Icy Wind. Celene had told Ash that she eventually hoped for Aurora to be able to do something like this for Moonblast, her egg move that was currently locked.

After a few hours of practice, they gathered around to feed the pokemon some canned pokemon food that Celene had bought (they wanted to make their own but couldn't without a fire), and the trainers munched on protein bars and drank bottled water. Then they slept outside instead of in the tent because the forest's weather was warm even at night.

The next few days continued on in a pattern like that. Wake up, feed, travel, battle, stop, practice, eat, sleep. There were lots of weak bug trainers in Viridian Forest, most of them having teams of Weedle or Caterpie. One guy had a Beedrill, but Aurora was able to defeat it easily with her new combo move. Celene still couldn't find a pokemon she wanted to catch. They had come across a Beedrills hive, once, and barely managed to escape without anyone seeing them. The rarest pokemon they had found was a wild Larvesta, however it just growled at them and retreated into the forest. Ash was going to follow until Cerena warned him that the mother was probably nearby.

Soon enough, they were down to their last day before they would leave the forest and reach Pewter City. The day was rather cold and cloud, seemingly breeding bad moods. Cerene seemed angry at herself for not being able to find a pokemon she wanted to catch. They had recently came across pokemon from other regions like Wurmple, Spinarak, and even a powerful Scoulipide and her children, who they stayed far away from. For some reason, Cerene was especially moody for the past few days, but whenever Ash asked what was wrong she just blushed and sputtered a bit, before eventually running ahead. So, Ash was left comforting Cerene that day when suddenly a sword was pointed at Ash's throat.

Trix let out a loud snarl and lept at the offending person, who let out a cry of pain as she bit down on his hand. "Call your beast off!" Cried the offender, a boy that looked younger than Ash who was wearing a worn Samurai helmet.

"Why should I?" Ash exploded angrily. "You tried to jab my throat out with your stick of a sword!" Celene out a hand on Ash's shoulder to try and calm him down.

The Samurai-wanna-be seemed to explode, startling Trix and making her fall by his feet. "IT'S A KATANA YOU UNCULTURED GRUMPIG!" This caused Trix to start biting his foot.

Ash felt a wave of distaste rise in his throat. This brat was nowhere near a Samurai at all. He was probably one of those trainers who preyed on weakened trainers after traveling through Viridian Forest for a week, just to make money.

Samurai boy stood as dignified as he could with a Zorua attacking his foot. "Are you trainers from Pallet?" The boy said.

"I am." Ash said, motioning for Trix to come over to him. Trix bounded into his arms (Aether was in his pokeball), and Ash noticed she had actually been getting bigger, on her way to evolving. Of course, she was nowhere near ready but still, this was a good sign.

"Then a challenge you for a duel in my honor!" The Samurai-Guy cried, picking up the sword. "Three Trainers from Pallet have already faced and defeated me. However, you seem weak, and perhaps I can recollect my dignity. Now, out, Pinsir!" The idiot sent out a Pinsir. At first glance it looked strong, but then Ash realized that the Pinsir's horns looked very weak and brittle, a sign that he had just grown new horns after shedding and should not be battling. Ash would of pointed this out, but he knew Katana-Boy would ignore him and battle anyway.

"Trix!" Ash called out, and the Zorua jumped out of his arms. As much as Ash wanted to use Aether in his first real battle, Ash knew the baby was still too young for anything other than mock battles. Ash knew Trix had a disadvantage, but she was probably too fast to be hit by any attacks.

"Pinsir, use Headbutt!" Samurai-Boy called out, and the Pinsir charged forward, light shining from his head.

"Dodge, Trix!" Ash called. "Then Shadow Ball!" Trix dodged to the side, and started to charge up a ball of shadowy energy. Ash had had her working on the attack every night, and now it was much more powerful than before. Trix released the Shadow Ball as the Pinsir turned to face her, hitting him in the face. The Pinsir let out a screech as small explosion occurred and it was blasted back a bit.

"Grrrr!" The enemy trainer growled. "Use X-Scissor!" With another strangled screech sound, the Pinsir charged forward again, arms glowing green and spread out in a slashing motion.

Ash gritted his teeth. Bug was super effective against Dark, and Ash was worried that Trix would be badly hurt from that move. "Protect!" Ash snapped out. Trix barked back and formed a green shield around her just as the Pinsir reached her. With a angry sound, the bug pokemon slashed the shield, but only succeeded in being blasted back.

"Nows our chance!" Ash called. "Pursuit, followed by Fury Swipes!" With a yelp of "_Zor_!", Trix dropped her shield and followed Pinsir as it stumbled back. Trix, wreathed in dark energy, lunged at Pinsir. She hit him in the chest and the Pinsir stumbled back with a "_Sir_!"

But Trix was not done. She started clawing with Fury Swipes, each hit landing. Ash could barely see her paws move, she was going so fast. Eventually she got a good hit on one of the horns and suddenly it cracked, another hit knocking it off and the Pinsir out cold.

"Yes!" Ash called out in victory, and Trix jumped into his arms for cuddles. If Aether had been out, he would of been cheering for Trix. As of such, Trix was probably going to be telling Aether all about the battle.

"WHAT?!" The Samurai-helmed boy screeched. "No! I didn't lose! You _cheated_!" The boy looked one second away from attacking Ash (again).

Thankfully, Celene stepped forward. Ash had almost forgotten about her, she had been so quiet during the battle. Ash took no offense, that was just the way she was.

"He can and he did." Celene said. Ash was a bit surprised she decided to speak up, but thankful all the same. "Accept your defeat." Aurora in her arms was almost growling.

The child puffed up angrily. "I challenge you to a battle!" He screeched. Celene smiled and Aurora jumped out of her arms. "Gladly."

The Samurai snarled and sent out a Scyther. Ash, on the sidelines, shook his head and sighed. Scyther had a disadvantage with its Flying Type, and even if the Trainer thought Aurora was merely a normal vulpix with an odd coloring, she still had a _huge_ advantage with the fire typing.

"Quick Attack!" The Samurai-boy called out. Ash winced as the already quick pokemon crashed into Aurora, knocking her over. However, Aurora got back up quickly.

"Okay, Aurora! Hail!" Celene called out. If Aurora was any other type than Ice, Hail would of failed here as the pokemon would not have enough Ice energy to successfully do the move. Also, the weather that day was colder than normal in Viridian Forest, so Hail would not melt as well.

Aurora barked and crouched, raising her tails in the air. A light shone from her tails and raised into the air, and a blast of cold air waved over the arena. The air about seven feet above them became foggy and misty, and hail started to fall out in thick waves. Aurora became nearly invisible, thanks to her Snow Cloak ability.

Ash shivered. Thankfully, the Hailstorm was rather small and weak compared to what he had seen on TV. The storm would fade quickly, as Aurora was still a first-stage pokemon. The storm didn't even reach to the edges of the clearing, so Ash just scooted back until he was out of the range of the Hail.

"What!" The opposing trainer called out, stomping the ground. "Now fair! Scyther, Wing Attack!" Even though Ash could not see Celene very well, he could almost hear the smirk in her voice as she called out "Ice Spear!"

Ash could see the Scyther pretty well in the Hail, as his green stood out, however Aurora was invisible besides for flashes of blue eyes. Suddenly, just as Scyther spread his wings and lifted into the air with a struggle, two long icicles pierced each wing, causing Ash and Trix to let out a cheer. With a cry, Scyther fell from the air, and Aurora finished him off with a blast of Frost Breath. Just as she finished, the Hail started to clear, and soon Ash was left staring at a damp field with no sign of snow in sight. The air was warming up again, and Samurai-Boy stared at his downed pokemon with wide eyes.

"Yes!" Ash called out as Aurora turned around and ran into Celene's arms. She whispered something into Aurora's ears, Ash guessing it was praise.

"Wh-wha…" Ash looked up the Wannabe-Samurai's stutters as he returned his Scyther. "How...dare…" The boy was getting more and more angry, and started screaming loudly at Celene. "How dare you cheat! You can't change the weather like that! I barely got a move in!"

Ash looked to Celene, who looked almost frozen with a look of panic on her face. Quickly, he stepped in to defend her like she defended him. "It _is _a fair move." Ash pointed out. "Just a difficult one to pull off. She beat you, fair and square. Suck it up and emit defeat."

Instead of cooling the boy down, he just got angrier. "Oh yeah? _SUCK THIS_!" The boy charged forward, ready to stab them with his twig of a sword. "Trix!" Ash called, and the Zorua created a quick Protect.

The trainer could not stop in time and crashed into the shield. With a crack, this katana broke in half, and the Samurai Trainer started screaming curses at the top of his lungs and pounding at the protect. When Ash turned to look at Celene, she was looking a bit panicked, clutching Aurora tight. Ash smiled thinly at her before turning back to the fight.

He wasn't quite sure what to do. He didn't want to attack the kid, however right now it seemed the only option. He was screaming to loud and if he didn't stop soon then-

"_Absol_!" Ash turned around at the cry and found Omen standing next to Celene, having must've popped out of his pokeball. He was standing ominously in warning, and Ash felt a chill run down his spine from the feeling of dread.

Then, it started. The buzzing of an angry swarm of Beedrill. The Samurai trainer stopped in surprise and ran off. Ash noticed that he left quite a lot of items on the ground, but thankfully no pokeballs.

"Run!" Ash called, and Trix dropped her shield. Ash started running in a direction away from the Beedrill. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Celene command Aurora to grab something before following him, but he had no idea what.

As they started running, Ash looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the swarm. Thankfully, only a few were chasing them down, but from the sound of it more were following. They had to slow them down. "Celene! Do you have any moves that can slow them down!" Ash panted to the girl following him. For a moment, Ash wished for Leaf and her Bulbasaur, before shaking his head. He had Celene, who was just as good, if not better than his childhood friend.

"Yeah!" Celene called. "Aurora, Mist! Full power! Omen, Double Team to distract them!" Ash turned around in time to see Aurora jump on Celene's head and start puffing out cold air while several copies of Omen split off of him and turned back to face the Beedrill, while the real Omen stayed with them. The last Ash saw of them, the bee pokemon had stopped the face the new threat before a cloud of fog rolled over his vision.

A few seconds later, Ash spotted a small dip in the leaves. "Here!" He hissed, pointing out the small dip. When they came closer Ash realized there was a small hole in the leaves that lead to a tunnel barely big enough for them. Ash shared a nervous look with Celene. "Should we?" Ash asked. They were running out of time. They either had to go into a mystery hole or stay out and fight the Beedrill.

Celene was the one who decided, seemingly influenced by the furious cry of the Beedrill as they realized they were facing copies. She returning Omen. "You go first." She said. After a second, Ash conceded and crouched down. Trix went in the tunnel first, followed by him. A few seconds later Ash herd Celene enter the tunnel behind, and the sound of paws as Aurora seemingly followed suit.

Ash crawled as quietly as he could, but it was hard as the padded through total blackness. The leafy ground sometimes pricked Ash as he passed over it, and the only light came from small gaps in the tightly packed tunnel barely above their heads. Trix wasn't bothered by it, as seen by the fact she was almost running through the dark.

Soon, they heard a buzzing sound approach, and Ash stopped with a whispered command to Celene. Both trainers stilled as the buzzing got louder and louder, shadows blocking out what little light they had. Ash crouched down, as still as he could as the Beedrill flew above. Ash didn't know how long it took, but the frustrated sounds faded. All was quiet for a few minutes before Ash dared speak.

"What should we do?" Ash whispered. Even though the Beedrill were gone, you could never know if they were still nearby.

Celene though for a moment. "We can't go back. They could be guarding the entrance. We can only keep going forward…And it's getting lighter. We should be by the exit."

She was right. As Ash looked farther, he realized the blackness was turning to more of a gray. "Right." Ash nodded. "Let's hope we get out of here soon." His legs were cramped for crouching for so long in the dark, damp tunnel. "Trix, can you help lead us out?" Ash asked to his starter. She yelped softly in agreement before walking off, prompting Ash and Celene to follow her through the darkness.

* * *

Despite the fact the tunnel was getting brighter, it still took what felt like hours to finally see the exit. When that happened Ash let out a groan of relief, forcing his broken body faster.

When Ash finally burst out of the tunnel, he was blinded by the light. He closed his eyes and blinked rapidly, groaning from the stretch in his muscles as he pulled himself up.

When Ash opened his eyes, he gaped in surprise as he saw what was in front of them. Many people have seen and reported footage of Bug Types Migrating, but from what Ash saw, nothing on this scale. They were looking down into a small valley filled with bug pokemon traveling from the top of a small hill. Ash spotted Venonat, Caterpie, Dewider, and many more flightless bug pokemon. Even the occasional rare Larvesta showed up in the swarm.

"Woah." Celene said softly, startling Ash. "They must be migrating.". Ash nodded slowly, barely paying attention to Celene and focusing on the swarm. Ash heard a soft clattering sound and turned to see Celene holding her pokedex out and filming the view. _Oh yah_, Ash's mind said. _I should probably do that too. _But just as Ash was starting to pull his pokedex out, the sound of a scuffle brought his and Celene's attention.

The end of the swarm was starting to grow nearer, and Ash could spot a small yellow figure behind the rest of the swarm. The pokemon seemed to be trying to get into the swarm, however a bigger yellow bug pokemon and another strange bug pokemon kept knocking it back when it got too close.

Finally the three pokemon were close enough for Ash to make out. The two yellow pokemon had spiky fur(?), four legs, and four small blue eyes. Ash recognized the pokemon as Joltic, pokemon that originated from Unova. However, Ash didn't recognize the third pokemon.

"Grubbin." Celene said, spooking Ash. He whipped his head towards her, who was focused on the three pokemon. "From Alola, pure bug type." Ash then turned back to the pokemon as he heard a squeal.

The three pokemon had stopped and were facing off, the bigger Joltik and Grubbin against the smaller one. The bigger Joltik was snapping something at smaller, who answered back in a determined manner. As Ash and Celene stepped closer, pokemon at their heels, the bigger Joltik spotted them, and Ash tensed. However, instead of fighting them, the pokemon got a dark glint in its eye and sneered something to the other Joltik. The pokemon looked startled for a moment, before answering back, and without a warning charging at Celene and Aurora.

"Celene!" Ash called. The little bug pokemon was like a flash of electricity, shooting off towards Celene.

"Aurora!" Celene called out, stepping aside as Aurora jumped forward with a cry of "_Pix!"_. Ash watched as the Joltik kept going and pounced on Aurora, before biting down on her with a "_Tik!"_. Aurora let out a furious shriek, before shaking her body and knocking the Joltik off. The Joltik flew back a few feet, but landed safely and turned back to Aurora with a determined look.

"Okay Aurora! Disable!" Celene called out, and Aurora barked in reply. Ash watched as she glared at the Joltik, a pink light flashing in her eyes before the Joltik shuddered as the Disable hit, temporarily rendering him unable to use the move and unable to move. "Good job, Celene!" Ash called, as Trix yelped by his side.

"Now! Icy Wind!" Celene ordered, the only sign that she had heard Ash and Trix was the fact her ears heated up a little bit.

"_Vul-a-Pix!"_ Aurora called out, and unleashed a strong blast of cold air. The poor Joltik was so small, it was blasted back a good few feet before managing to get up, with some difficulty.

Ash heard laughter and turned to see the bigger Joltik and the Grubbin snickering at the littler Joltik. Trix then growled at them before Leering, causing them to blanch in fear.

Despite being blasted back, the little Joltik just growled before letting out a high pitched Screech. Ash and Celene let out cries of agony, as Trix and Aurora covered their ears with their paws. Ash felt bad for his poor pokemon and picked her up, where she nestled into his chest and didn't move.

Finally the Screech stopped, and Ash looked up just as Joltik came charging at Aurora with it's two front legs glowing purple. "Aurora!" Celene called, and just as Aurora looked up, the Joltik hit her with it's attack, knocking the fox pokemon back with a cry of pain. As Aurora struggled to get up, the wound on her chest from the attack glowed purple. Poison. "Celene!" Ash called. "Aurora's poisoned!"

That got a reaction from Celene. "Okay then Aurora. Time to finish this. Ice Spear!"

Aurora got up of shaky legs, before charging up a large, sharp piece of ice as big as she was. "_Vul…" _Aurora called out, and the spear stopped glowing. "_...a…."_ The Joltik looked on, frozen from fear. "_...PIX!"_ Aurora uneased the Ice Spear with a blast of Icy Wind, and the combo barreled towards the Joltik, who was too scared to run. The combo made contact, and the Joltik's unconscious body went flying back until it hit a bolder, before laying in a heap, knocked out.

"Good job, Aurora." Celene called out, pulling out a yellow stringe. "Here." She injected it into Aurora's back, causing the pokemon to let out a sigh of relief.

"What was that?" Ash asked, curious what Celene had injected Aurora with.

"An Antidote. They come in bottles and syringes. Bottles are much weaker then stringes, however stringes are only needed if its a super effective attack or if the poison is serious. Since Aurora's evolution is weak to poison, Im giving her this anyway." Celene explained as she tucked the empty syringe away.

"Huh…" Was all Ash could say before they turned to the subject at hand. The bigger Joltik and Grubbin snorted at the unconscious one, before turning and walking away. However, they both stopped at a weak cry from the little Joltik, who had managed to get up and was staggering after the bigger pokemon. Ash was impressed the little pokemon was even awake after the beating it got.

Without turning around, the bigger Joltik responded to the smaller one in what Ash thought was probably a cold voice. The smaller Joltik cried out again, tears bubbling up in its eyes as the bigger pokemon began walking again. The little Joltik tried to stumble after the bigger pokemon, but collapsed after two steps. The little Joltik began crying out as the other pokemon left it behind, seemingly begging for them to take it with them, to not leave it behind. The other pokemon never looked back or slowed down, and eventually disappeared into the distance, while the small's Joltik's cries became softer and softer before trailing off.

Ash was almost crying. They had just seen one pokemon be abandoned by another, leaving them behind to die out in the forest. And die the Joltik would if it didn't find a new swarm. Or…

Ash watched as Celene and slowly approached the Joltik before sitting down beside it. Ash and Trix watched in confusion as Celene started speaking to the pokemon, Aurora walking over and sitting in her lap. "They told you to attack me, didn't they." Celene broke the silence, and the teary eyed Joltik looked up, before glancing down ashamedly.

Celene took the silence to mean she was correct, and she continued. "They were setting you up to fail. Even if you had won, you would of been too weak to continue on with them, so they would of left you anyway." Still the Joltik remained silent.

"If you want, I can help you get stronger." At this, the Joltik looked up, interested. "I'm a pokemon trainer, which means I help my pokemon get stronger and evolve. You get free food and shelter, and in return you must battle for me. If you want, someday I could take you back here so you could prove to other Joltik how strong you are."

The Joltik was getting teary eyed again, but from a different reason. "_Jolt! Jolt! Joltik!"_ the pokemon called, happiness seeming to melt the exhaustion away.

"I'm assuming thats a yes?" Celene said, and Ash could hear the amusement in her voice. Still, the Joltik nodded. "Okay them will you allow yourself to be caught in a pokeball?" The Joltik nodded again, abit less certainly.

"Here." Celene looked around in her bag, accidentally bumping off Aurora, who looked annoyed at being moved from her comfy spot. Celene pulled out a teal ball with black webbing covering it and a white bottom. "A net ball. Bug types are proven to like these balls more. You ready?"

The Joltik nodded, looking a bit happier about the whole pokeball situation. Celene placed the pokeball down in front of her after enlarging it. The Joltik was actually a bit smaller than the pokeball, and it seemed a bit wary as it scooted closer. After a minute, the Joltik tapped the button on the pokeball and became sucked inside as a flash of light.

The Net Ball dinged in capture after a few shakes, and Celene picked the ball up before releasing her new pokemon. "Okay, Joltik, I'm gonna give you this berry to make you better while I scan your information into my Pokedex." Celene pulled out her pokedex, and Ash quickly pulled his out from where he had been watching the whole time in amazement.

"Celene is scary efficient..." Ash whispered to Trix, who nodded in agreement as data came up on the Pokedex. "_Joltik, the Attaching Pokemon. __These Pokemon attach themselves to large-bodied Pokémon and absorb static electricity, which they store in an electric pouch. This Joltik is male and knows the moves Bug Bite, Screech, __Spider Web, Thunder Wave, Fury Cutter, and Cross Poison(egg move). This pokemon has a Hasty Nature, and the Ability Unnerve."_

"Good moveset." Celene said to her Joltik, who made a purring sound. "Do you want a nickname?" The Joltik nodded eagerly. "Okay then… what about Taze?" The Joltik nodded excitedly. "Nice. Welcome to the team, Taze. You already met Aurora…" Celene nodded to the Vulpix, who looked rather bored. "...and Omen is my other pokemon, you can meet him later." The Joltik seemed happy with this and scampered up Celene's arm, finding a place on her shoulder.

"Celene! Do you know what way we have to go?" Ash asked. Honestly, he was lost, but Celene seemed like she might know the way.

Celene thought for a moment as she picked her bags up. "Ash, do you have the compass app on your Pokedex?" Celene asked suddenly.

Ash startled slightly. "Wait. We can get apps on our Pokedex?" Celene sighed. "Just give it to me." Ash handed his Pokedex over to her and watched as she clicked a symbol of a 3 by 3 row of white dots, that brought them to another screen, that was very empty except for a few survival guides.

Celene looked through them for a moment before selecting an app called _Survival Tools_ and pressed on a section that said _Compass_. The screen loaded up a digital compass. "There." Celene said, looking pleased. "Pewter is towards the North, so lets use this Compass to go that way." She handed it back to Ash, who stayed silent.

"Remind me never to piss you off." Ash said. Celene just laughed at that. "I know you wouldn't." She said sweetly, (but it sounded kinda like a threat). Ash just gulped and lead the way through the forest. He just hoped they got about before Celene's move got worse.

* * *

Ash almost passed out on the floor of the PokeCenter as they entered the building. It had taken over two hours to find the path and follow it out of the forest. Not to mention all the trainers that demanded battles. Ash battled the first few, but then gave up when there was no end to the bug-catchers. Eventually, Celene had Taze fight the battles, and he one-shot most of the pokemon as he hd type advantages over anything Grass type, and a poison type move for the bug types.

But finally, they had arrived. Ash dragged himself over to the counter, where he dropped Trix and Aether's pokeballs off, and Celene dropped hers off. At this point, Ash was so exhausted he could barely think, and Celene looked like she was _more_ than half asleep. Ash was a bit jealous that the pokemon didn't have to walk across the whole forest, as he put Trix in her pokeball so she wouldn't be tired. The Nurse Joy looked a mix between amused and alarmed at the way they looked, and she silently handed over a room key to them. Ash thanked the nurse (and Celene grunted in what Ash thought was thanks) before he and Celene stumbled to their room. Ash was the one to open the door to the room. There were two beds, thankfully, and a side bathroom. Celene crashed on the closest bed, so Ash took the farthest.

Ash sprawled out on the bed with a groan. He was tired and achy all over his body from walking for several days and sleeping on a thin sleeping bag. Ash nuzzled into the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. But he couldn't. With a sigh, he got up and checked the time. It was around 5:00pm, and Ash _knew_ there was no way they would be able to hit Brock's gym so late, with them all tired and their pokemon being healed.

"Celene?" Ash said warily, hoping he didn't aggravate Celene too much. Once he had woken her up at night by tossing and turning, and she had sicked Omen on him in revenge the next night. Ash didn't get much sleep then as the Absol glared holes into his back.

A muffled groan from Celene snapped Ash back to the present. Ash took that as acceptance from Celene he wouldn't let her sleep and continued. "Lets battle Brock tomorrow. Right now, we have to shower and get our clothing washed before we rest." Celene sighed and took her face out of the pillow.

"Fine. Im using the bathroom first…" Celene said. She quickly moved to the bathroom, taking a small bag along with her. Ash thanked Arceus that Celene didn't like to waste time and would finish quickly.

Why he waited for the bathroom, Ash got out his Pokedex and searched up Brock. Apparently, for first badger's the battles were 2v2. Brock used one random Basic Stage Rock Type, and then one of his Onixs. Ash knew this wasn't Brocks real Onix. He had heard horror stories about Ash's Onix. She was known as a queen among Rock Types, huge and strong for her mere age that was estimated at around 50. Her skin was supposedly dark like the deepest depths of a cave, and her body was so tough a Rhydon couldn't break it.

But anyway, Ash knew that he had to use Aether against Brock's first pokemon. Unless he wanted to go out and catch another pokemon, and train them up in less than 24 hours, Ash had to stick to the Togepi. Even though Ash had not used Aether in an actual battle, other than fighting a few trainers caterpies, he had let the baby pokemon watch almost all of Trix's. And he had taught Aether protect, and had practiced all his moves. Ash was confident Aether could win against another basic pokemon.

Trix, however, was Ash's secret weapon. With her Illusion ability, even if it wasn't as strong as it could be, she would be able to confuse the Onix (who usually aren't that smart), and use her new, super effective move to win. As Ash finished up his plan, he heard the sound of a door opening and turned to see Celene leaving the bathroom, hair wet and wearing fresh clothing. "All yours." Celene said, and Ash headed towards the bathroom happily.

* * *

It was the next morning when Ash and Celene stood in front of the Pewter Gym. Ash was already wide awake and excited, but Celene was holding a paper cup of coffee. She was half asleep, and only responded to Ash with grunts.

That morning had been a rush, waking up early, getting dressed in good, clean clothing and not something that would make the Gym Leader think bad of them, and, of course, finding the Gym. It wasn't as hard as it would of been in Viridian, thankfully. While Pewter was bigger than Viridian, the buildings were a lot smaller and duller, and the streets wider and quieter. Thankfully, Nurse Joy had given them directions when they stopped to pick up their pokemon, so they found the gym with much less hassle.

In the present, Ash stepped forward and pushed the doors open. They opened rather easily, showing Ash and Celene the dark interior of the gym. Ash looked around before deciding to walk a few steps in. "Hello?" He called.

Suddenly, the lights snapped on. Ash was blinded for a moment before his vision came back into focus. In front of him was a large battlefield, made up of dirt with occasional rocks of varying sizes. And across from him was Brock, for who else could it be? The man was sitting on a boulder across the room. "Ah. You have arrived." The man spoke, his voice deep and rough. "Nurse Joy warned me of you arrival yesterday." The Gym Leader answered Ash's unspoken question. "This is both of yours first gym?" At the nods from Ash and Celene he continued "Well, choose who gets to go first and the other can sit off to the side." Brock waved his hand to the side, where there were seats. A few people sat in the seats, clearly excited to see the battle. Now that Ash though about it they looked a lot like Brock. Maybe his siblings? Ash heard Brock heard a lot of siblings that he took care of after his mother died and his father left them.

"I'll go. I'm Ash of Pallet Towen." Ash finally said as it was clear Celene had no intention of going first. Brock nodded stood, before walking to his end of the field. Ash copied him with his end, grabbing Aethers pokeball in his hand and enlarging it.

"Forrest!" Brock called out, looking at the bundle of children. "You may referee." A boy stood up from the sets with a grin. He was definitely one of Brocks siblings, from appearances. Forrest ran to the referee box.

"Gym Battle between Gym Leader Brock vs Ash from Pallet Town. This battle will be 2v2 and end when all the pokemon on one side are knocked out. Challenger is allowed substitutions. Send out your first pokemon."

Ash knew he had to go first, as this was his first gym battle. In other battles he could send out second, but usually in the first few Gym Battles challengers went first, so the Gym Leaders can pick an appropriate pokemon to use in case one was too strong for the other and it got badly hurt.

"Go, Aether!" Ash called as he threw the pokeball. In a burst of white light the Togepi appeared. "_Topi!"_ The little pokemon cried. It spotted Ash and started walking towards him. "Aether! This is Gym Battle." Ash called. "Get ready." The Togepi looked confused for a moment before squeaking in agreement and turning to face Brock with a look of determination on his little face.

With a blank face, Brock picked up one of the eight balls on his belt. "Go! Archen!" He called. In a flash of light, a small bird-like pokemon appeared. Ash looked on in amazement. Archen were prehistoric bird pokemon who had been found in Unova originally. Pokemon had only just started being revived from fossils in the last few years. Those pokemon had all gained the Rock Typing when revived, even if they weren't before, as a consequence of being dead for years. And it did make sense Brock had this particular Rock Type, to counter Grass Pokemon.

Ash turned to Forrest then. By his side was a Kadabara and a Mr Mime. Ash was confused at first until they started forming a barrier to protect the crowd and trainers from the battle. Ash watched in amazement a pale pink barrier formed, then vanished. Ash knew the barrier would only stop pokemon moves and bodies, but the pokemon controlling the barrier would let them retrieve their pokemon and send new ones out. Ash snapped out of thought as Forrest called "Archen vs Togepi! Begin!"

"Archen! Wing Attack!" Brock called out, and his pokemon squaked in agreement before barreling towards Aether, wings glowing.

"Aether! Dodge!" Ash called out, his voice wavering slightly with worry. Aether obeyed as he rolled out of the way of the Wing Attack. "Now Charm!" The Togepi started jumping up and down, squealing, with hearts in his eyes. The Archen looked confused for a moment, but Ash took that chance. "Sweet Kiss!"

Aether barreled towards Archen, ready to leap up and kiss it's cheek. However, Brock called out a command. "Rock Throw!" Ash wasn't able to tell if Aether had managed to hit Archen or not, because the Archen suddenly summoned a large rock from the battlefield and threw it at Aether. When using Rock-Type moves, pokemon could either use existing rocks or create new ones with Rock Energy. Using existing rocks was easiest for all pokemon, especially those who went Rock or Ground type. It's very hard for any non Rock pokemon to create their own rocks, as the energy was unlike any other types, other than Ground.

Ash watched in horror as Aether was hit by the rock and knocked back. The Togepi let out a cry of pain and lay, winded. "Aether!" Ash called out, horrified.

"Finish this!" Brock called. "Aerial Ace!" Ash watched as the Archen called out and ran at Ather, encased in light blue energy.

"Aether, Protect!" Ash cried out. Aether had managed to stand up, but he was tired and his shell was a bit cracked. The Togepi let out a cry of exhaustion, but managed to form a green shield just as Archen got close. There was a cry of pain and fury, and a wave of dust. When Ash looked back, Aether and the Archen were facing each other off.

"Archen?" Ash heard Brock ask. When he turned to look at the bird pokemon, he almost cheered. Archen was wobbling around, chirping to itself in confusion and occasionally bonking it's head on the ground. Aether's Sweet Kiss must've connected earlier, and not taken affect until Archen had collided with the Protect.

Now was their chance. "Aether! Metronome!" Aether started to wag his hands, which were glowing a bright white. This was a risky move on Ash's part. Metronome was a scary move for the fact pokemon could use moves they were no physically capable of, thanks to some strange influence. There was a small chance Aether could get a move where he blows himself up. As Aether could not learn that move naturally, nor could his body handle it, it would kill him. However, Ash had seen studies that suggested a pokemon's desire might influence Metronome. So Ash hoped Aether would get some kind of attacking move.

Out of Aether's hands shot yellow-green colored waves of electricity, racing towards Archen. Ash grinned as he recognized the move Shock Wave. This move ignored accuracy, and would be super effective against Archen. The waves flew towards Archen, and hit the poor pokemon quickly, knocking it out.

"Gym Leader Brock's Archen has been knocked out! The score is 1 to 0! Challenger, you may substitute your pokemon now. Gym Leader Brock, throw out your next pokemon."

"Go! Onix!" Brock called out, releasing the beast. Ash stared in amazement. While Ash had grown up around Professor Oak's lab, bigger pokemon like Onix and Dragonite were rare to see. Of course, Professor Oak had his own huge Dragonite, but he usually slept away in the forest. Ash had only seen the huge dragon once. Two Tauros had gotten into a fight, and Ash had watched as a shadow had crossed the sun and a huge Dragonite had swept down, immediately scarring the Tuaros out of a fight. "Good luck with that last Metronome, but that strategy would be useless against Onix here." Brock warned.

Ash observed the opposing Onix. It was a normal sized Onix, but the crest on its head was rather small, showing it was a young, inexperienced one. Ash looked at Aether on the field. The Togepi looked miserable, shell cracked and surrounded by rubble. Ash didn't want to see his pokemon suffer anymore. "Return." He called, recalling Aether. Only Trix, with her new move, really had a chance with this battle.

"Go! Trix!" Ash called, throwing her pokeball. She emerged in a flash of light, and gave a little giggle when she realized where she was. "Okay Trix. Remember what we practiced." Ash reminded the Zorua. They had been discussing strategies for a while, and now they were ready.

"Onix vs Zorua! Begin!" Forrest called out. "Okay Onix! Use Rock Throw!" Onix roared and hit a large rock with it's tail, sending it flying at Trix.

"Trix! Dodge and use Shadow Ball!" Trix yapped and jumped in the air, forming a shadowy orb in her mouth. The rock passed under her, and she shot the orb at the Onix. It roared in pain as the orb hit his side, causing a small explosion. "Follow up with Pursuit!" Trix flashed forward, covered in dark energy, as Onix stumbled back and hit it hard, cracking its body, before scrambling back. Ash winched at the cracking sound, but he knew Onix would be fine.

"Harden!" Brock commanded, his tone steady. The Onix glowed for a moment, and when the glow faded, it's body looked tougher than normal. "Now, use Headbutt!" The Onix flew at Trix with a roar.

"Trix, use your illusions!" Ash called out. Trix let out a bark and formed several other Zorua around her. Each looked identical. This was almost a weaker version of Double Team, but harder since Trix had to control each illusion to do as she says.

"Rock Tomb!" Brock called, and Ash's eyes widened in horror. "Protect!" He snapped out. Trix was forced to drop her illusions and form a green sheild as Onix formed several rocks and sent them at Trix. However, as soon as Trix dropped the Protect, Onix headbutted Trix and sent her back closer to Ash.

"Trix! Are you alright?" Ash asked, worried. Trix struggled up, letting out a soft yelp in confirmation.

"Now Rage!" Ash watched as the Onix's eyes glowed red before it roared and charged. Ash cursed. This was a risky move on Brock's part as Onix would now do anything possible to defeat Trix, and wouldn't stop until the battle is over.

Ash hated to give away Trix's secret move so fast, but he had no choice. "Grass Trap!" Ash called the name of the combo. Trix let out another laugh, and a large green vine erupted from the ground, snarring the tail of Onix. When Onix roared, annoyed, and looked back, Trix caused more vines to grow over Onix's body, rooting it to the ground. Ash heard Brock cry for Onix to escape, but Ash ignored it, focusing on Trix.

Onix began roaring frantically, and Ash knew he had to finish this fast. As Trix was not a grass type, it was hard for her to use Grass Knot at all, not to mention three large Grass Knots. "Barrage!" Ash called another combo. Trix began charging up another Shadow Ball, but let it go after a second. She immediately began charging up another and releasing it after another second, then again and again. A barrage of small Shadow Ball's flew towards Onix.

The rock snake let out cries of rage that eventually turned to cries of pain as the Barrage didn't let up. Eventually, the Onix sagged down and stopped moving. Brock almost seemed slightly in shock at the brutal takedown. He returned Onix as Forrsest announced "Challenger Ash from Pallet Town has won the Boulder Badge!"

"Yes!" Ash cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "_Zor! Zor! Zor!"_ Trix called, jumping around and running to Ash, leaping into his arms and licking his face.

"Good job." Ash looked up to see Brock across from him. "Your Togepi was tough, and your Zorua learning Grass Knot and those Combo Moves were creative." He held out his hand, and Ash took if after a moment in a handshake. When they released each other, Ash opened his hand and found the Boulder Badge. The badge was shaped like a stone-colored gem. "Now, call your friend down and we can battle."

Ash smiled as he made his way over to the seats, holding Trix in his arms. She was tried and bruised, but Ash had a feeling she wanted to stay out to watch the battle. "Your turn." Ash smiled at Celene. She smiled nervously back to him, seemingly back to her normal attitude.

Celene made her way down to the battlefield. "I, Celene of Mount Lanakila, challenge Brock, Leader of the Pewter City Gym for the Boulder Badge." She announced strongly. From the stands, Ash watched Brock's face. He seemed confused, for a moment. And with good reason.

Not long ago, a few years before Ash was born, there was a war between Johto and Kanto. Johto wanted freedom from Kanto, and they rebelled. The Alola Region was dragged into the fight, as they were considered part of Kanto Region back then. What ended up happening was Alola rebelling from Kanto and joining Johto. The war had ended with an attack on Kanto's capital, and a peace treaty being made. There was something else between Kanto and Alola that Ash didn't quite remember, something about two high-ranking officials having an arranged marriage set up, but Ash put it out of his mind. Anyways, Celene must be one of the first trainers who came from Alola to Kanto. It was likely then that Brock would not realize that Aurora was a Ice-Type when she was sent out at first. Ash grinned to himself. This was going to be good.

"Alola?" Brock asked, and received a nod from Celene. "I have a perfect pokemon for you to battle." He grinned. He nodded to Forrest, who began to referee, as the barrier reformed. "Gym Battle between Gym Leader Brock vs Celene from Mount Lanakila. This battle will be 2v2 and end when all the pokemon on one side are knocked out. Challenger is allowed substitutions. Send out your first pokemon."

"Taze!" Celene simply called as she released the Joltik. Taze let out an excited screech when he saw the battlefield, clearly excited. The little pokemon was very small on the huge field.

"Rockruff!" Brock called as he threw out his pokemon. A small puppy pokemon formed. Ash was reminded of a Growlithe, but a Rock Type instead of a Fire Type. The puppy pokemon was clearly excited as well, bouncing slightly in place. "This is Rockruff's first official battle." Brock grinned. "Figured you might like to see an Alolan pokemon here." And indeed Celene looked more excited and certain seeing the Rockruff. If Ash remembered correctly, he believed her mother had one of Rockruff's on her team. Ash was glad to see Celene look so relaxed, the sight of a pokemon she grew up seeing likely making her happier and more confident.

"Rockruff vs Joltik! Begin!" Forrest called, and the battle began. Ash watched nervously. Taze had a type disadvantage against Rockruff, and Ash knew Celene wanted to save Aurora for the Onix.

"Rockruff, Tackle!" Brock commanded, and the Rockruff charged forward happily, dashing towards Taze in Tackle attack.

"Taze, Spider Web that dodge!" Celene called. Taze buzzed before shooting a web on the ground between him and the Rockruff before dashing off and hitting the Rockruff with more Spider Webs.

Rockruff howled with displeasure as he was slowed down by the Spider Webs. Whimpering, he turned to look at Brock. "Roar, then Bite!" Brock commanded. Rockruff faced Taze and let out a loud roaring sound. As Taze huddled to the floor, startled, Rockruff freed himself and clamped his jaws around Taze, flinging him away into the back of a rock.

"Taze!" Celene called. Taze struggled upright, chirping. "Okay! Thunder Wave!" Taze sent a wave of electricity at Rockruff, who managed to dodge. "Now jump on Rockruff's back with Bug Bite!" Taze obeyed, managing to jump on Rockruff's back and sink his tiny fangs into it's pelt.

Rockruff howled again in pain, trying to shake itself off. "Try and Bite it off!" Brock commanded, however Taze just moved his body away from the snapping jaws.

"Finish this with Fury Cutter until he faints!" Celene called out. Still hanging on with Bug Bite, Taze began to slash with Fury Cutter. Rockruff shook as much as he could, trying to Bite his back and knock the Joltik off. However, Rockruff eventually slumped over, tired out from running around and hurt from Taze's attacks.

"Yes!" Ash called out, and Trix yelped in congratulations. "Good job Celene." Celene shot Ash a small, shy smile.

"Good job." Brock said as he returned Rockruff. "Winning with a type advantage."

"Gym Leader Brock's Rockruff has been knocked out! The score is 1 to 0! Challenger, you may substitute your pokemon now. Gym Leader Brock, throw out your next pokemon." Forrest called.

Brock grinned. "Your gonna wanna switch out for this one." Brock threw out a different Onix than before. This one had a bigger crest than the one before, and a slightly darker body. It would be a tougher opponent. This made Ash wonder if Brock knew about Celene's starter from beforehand, but he immediately dismissed it. He must of heard from Nurse Joy. It would explain why he seemed so unsurprised by their pokemon, as they could be considered rare.

"Taze, come back." Taze looked a bit reluctant, but scrambled up onto Celene's shoulder, apparently satisfied. Ash watched Celene roll her eyes at Taze before she called out Aurora. The white fox pokemon landed gracefully on the battlefield, and let out a soft "_pix._" The Onix let out a chuff, as if laughing. Aurora simplify huffed out a bit of cool air and got into a battle-ready position. "Onix vs Vulpix! Begin!"

Brock immediately ordered "Onix, Rock Polish, then Rock Blast!" The Onix grumbled, its body becoming shinier as it used Rock Polish, then quickly shooting several rocks at Aurora.

"Aurora! Dodge, then Powder Snow!" Aurora managed to avoid the first few rocks, but as she charged up Powder Snow, she got hit by a rock, knocking her back and canceling the attack.

"Onix! Now, Slam!" Onix hit Aurora with it's tail before she managed to get her up, knocking the fox back with a cry of pain.

"Aurora!" Celene called. Aurora got up, a little bruised but able to go on. "Time to end this. Use Hail!" Aurora glowed for a moment, before a bright light burst out of her tails and traveled up. At the top of the barrier, clouds started forming out and hail started to fall out, eventually becoming so thick Ash could barely see the field. Aurora was almost invisible in the snow, thanks to her ability. Ash shivered. Even though the barrier kept out the cold, it didn't keep him from imagining what it felt like in the battle. Suddenly there was a screech of pain.

"Onix!" Ash heard Brock call out. His Onix was quite obviously visible even in the storm, and there was a dark mark on his side. Ash realized Aurora must of hit him with a Frost Breath, and he wondered if Celene had trained her to attack without commands.

"Dig!" Brock called in one last attempt to regain the control he had swiftly lost. Ash could almost here the smirk in Celene's voice as she called "Follow it down! Aqua Tail." There was silence, then a cry of pain echoing across the gym.

Suddenly, Onix burst up from the ground and landed on the ground. Slowly the Hail died away, in time for Ash to see Aurora climb out of the hole Dig made and stand in front of her foe.

"Challenger Celene from Mount Lanakila has won the Boulder Badge!" Forrest announced after a shocked silence. Ash slowly felt a grin take over his face. He ran down from the seats, Trix racing ahead, in time to see Brock hand over the Boulder Badge to Celene. He said something that Ash couldn't make out, but seemed to make Celene a bit uncomfortable, but Ash couldnt be sure because when he reached them Celene seemed to be back to normal.

"Celene! Great job!" Ash grinned. "Aurora was _insane_, I didn't know she knew Aqua Tail!" Taze buzzed at him and Ash added "And Taze did well in his first official battle."

Celene smiled in reply. "Trix and Aether were great as well. Trix did some really nice combo moves and Aether was super tough! Now we should get them to the Pokemon Center. Trix looks like she's falling asleep on her feet!" Ash looked down and indeed, Trix was yawning rather widely, eyes drooping.

"Oh! Good idea." Ash grinned. He returned Trix to her pokeball. "Lets get going." They exited the Gym together, but Ash couldn't help the small shiver of curiosity he felt.

Brock seemed to know something about Celene he did not know yet. Sure, Celene's mother was a champion, but she was the champion of a foreign region. And she went to great lengths to keep her identity a secret. Ash didn't know what she was hiding, but he swore to himself that he would find out. And if it was hurting her, he would help her through.

* * *

**Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been so long. However, I made this page ½ longer than usual. So In the Anime, Ash attracts a lot of attention. He had met just about every mythical or legendary Pokemon, and has saved the world, like, several times.**

**So I don't feel that bad about what Im doing with Celene. I included hints in this chapter, but don't think too hard. I also twisted canon a bit, with war timeline and stuff. Think of it as an AU (which it is)**


	5. Chapter 5

Okay guys. Im rewriting this story. I made a mistake by introducing Celene too early, and didnt focuse on Ash enough. The new story will be out soon. Im not sure if I should change ashes starter or not. Go ahead and give me advice on this. I feel disappointed in myself for completely skipping Ash's character development. I might make Celenes story completely separate, because I have a lot planned for her. For now, see yaa.

So, should I change Ashs starter? if so, to what? Vote in the poll!


	6. Chapter 6

I need a Beta-Reader for my new story. I would send them my story right after I finished them and before I published it. They would read over it and make notes, fixing grammar mistakes, and giving me ideas.

In order to qualify, you will have to have at least one story up already from 3rd person with good editing and grammar.


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